(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Interior Minister General Walter Chacon Málaga, RSF expressed its concern over the fact that “Cecilia Valenzuela is under surveillance, as a result of having questioned the actions of the National Intelligence Service (Servicio de Inteligencia Nacional, SIN)”. The organisation asked the minister of the interior to ensure that “an […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Interior Minister General Walter Chacon Málaga, RSF expressed its concern over the fact that “Cecilia Valenzuela is under surveillance, as a result of having questioned the actions of the National Intelligence Service (Servicio de Inteligencia Nacional, SIN)”. The organisation asked the minister of the interior to ensure that “an extensive investigation, which will shed light on this case, is launched”. “In May 1998, the journalist received death threats which were attributed to the SIN”, noted Robert Ménard, RSF’s secretary-general (see IFEX alert of 29 May 1998).
According to information collected by RSF, Valenzuela, director of the on-line news agency imediaperu.com, has been pursued since the publication of a series of articles which questioned the SIN’s role in an arms and drug trafficking case. The journalist reports that, since 31 August 2000, a van with tinted windows has been parked in front of the agency’s office and that, on 4 September, a vehicle tried to run her over in front of her house. Furthermore, since 2 September, Valenzuela has been the subject of a slander campaign which has appeared in a number of popular newspapers, which are, according to some analysts, controlled by the SIN.
In 1997 and 1998, RSF recorded a number of cases of pressure exerted on about fifteen investigative journalists: phone tappings, threats of legal persecution, death threats, etc. On 26 May 1998, Valenzuela, director of the Aqui y ahora (Here and Now) programme broadcast on the Andina de Television channel, received death threats after she reported on human rights violations committed by the military.
