Journalist receives telephone death threats, seven others also threatened

(IPYS/IFEX) – Eight journalists have received death threats in the last few days. Death threats against seven of the journalists were contained in two cards used to request a Catholic prayer for the dead. One of the cards was delivered to journalist Juan Carlos Giraldo of the RCN television station newscast and the other to […]

(IPYS/IFEX) – Eight journalists have received death threats in the last few days. Death threats against seven of the journalists were contained in two cards used to request a Catholic prayer for the dead. One of the cards was delivered to journalist Juan Carlos Giraldo of the RCN television station newscast and the other to Julia Navarrete of the Caracol television station newscast.

Giraldo’s and Navarrete’s names appear in the document, as do those of journalists Jairo Lozano of the daily “El Tiempo”, Marilyn López of the television news programme Noticias Uno – La Red Independiente, Hernando Marroquín of Caracol Radio, Jairo Naranjo of RCN Radio and José Antonio Jiménez of TV Hoy. All the journalists cover the Attorney General’s Office and use the office as a source.

Additional threats made over the telephone were aimed at journalist Mauricio Bayona, sports editor for the daily “El Tiempo” and the Citytv television station newscast.

The two letters are similar in appearance and were both sent by mail. The first was received on 1 March 2002 and the second on 4 March. In both cases, the text is the same and written in a similar manner. The journalists are told that “with your lies you have led the Attorney General’s Office to screw around with our people.” The cards conclude with the warning, “You have seventy-two hours to flee the country. Otherwise, you and your family members will be declared military objectives. We are spying on you and know where you live.” The note is signed Death Commando (Comando Muerte).

The public was made aware of the case after the Interior Ministry’s Committee to Protect Journalists (Comité de Protección a Periodistas) provided the journalists with security. One of the journalists informed IPYS that besides receiving threats some of the journalists were followed under suspicious circumstances on the night of Monday 4 March.

In a conversation with IPYS, the journalists who are under threat spoke of various hypotheses as to the origin of the threats. Some of the journalists discussed among themselves the progress in an investigation over the telephone. It is possible that their lines were tapped and their conversation got the criminals’ attention. Another possibility is that the threats are directed at only some of the journalists, but other journalists’ names were included to throw off the investigation. There is some basis for this hypothesis as some of the journalists were in the past seriously threatened for their work on a number of occasions. The fact that the list includes a TV Hoy journalist, when the newscast is no longer being broadcast, would also support this hypothesis. Finally, it is possible that this action was aimed at terrorising and intimidating the press in general.

The national press reported that the authorities already have some leads as to the identity of those behind the threats. Meantime, a number of the threatened journalists have chosen to flee the country as a temporary measure.

The Bayona case is separate. Bayona has been receiving threats over the telephone since 2001. In the last ten days, the number of calls has increased and their tone has become more menacing. As a result of an evaluation of the risk he was under by state security organisations, Bayona decided to go into exile. “We are going to kill him if he continues to write like this,” repeated a man over the telephone each day over the past week. Bayona received these calls at his home and at his parents’ home.

The journalists have recognised the state’s quick response in providing them with protection. Nevertheless, they call on the authorities to speed up the investigations so that light is shed on the threats. They understand that the security measures are only a temporary measure and they refuse to believe that the only way to save themselves would be to leave the country.

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Dr. Luis Camilo Osorio
Attorney General
Diagonal 22-B Nº 5201
Fax: +571 570 2000, ext. 1587
E-mail: contacto@fiscalia.gov.co

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