(APG/IFEX) – The following is an excerpt from an 8 July 2002 press release by the Press Freedom Committee of the APG. The original Spanish version is distributed in its entirety: The Press Freedom Committee of the Guatemalan Journalists Association (APG) condemns the threats received by Adrián Zapata, columnist for Siglo XXI The Press Freedom […]
(APG/IFEX) – The following is an excerpt from an 8 July 2002 press release by the Press Freedom Committee of the APG. The original Spanish version is distributed in its entirety:
The Press Freedom Committee of the Guatemalan Journalists Association (APG) condemns the threats received by Adrián Zapata, columnist for Siglo XXI
The Press Freedom Committee condemns the threats received by Siglo XXI columnist Adrián Zapata and denounces those who anonymously try to silence Guatemalans.
The Siglo XXI columnist has exercised his right as a citizen to express his opinion through the written press and in interviews broadcast via radio and television. As a result, he has become the target of “mafias”, who wish to silence him.
On Sunday 7 July 2002, Zapata received a telephone call at his home from an individual claiming to be a member of “organised crime”, who warned him that he was going to be assassinated. The journalist is also a political analyst and leader. He belongs to Grupo Barometro and is a professor at the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala and the Universidad Rafael Landivar.
The Press Freedom Committee has expressed its support for columnist Zapata. It calls on organisations working for the defense of journalists to speak out against the alarming situation in Guatemala and on human rights groups to take action so that further attacks are prevented.
PRESS FREEDOM COMMITTEE
APG
Guatemala, 8 July 2002
