Journalists detained

(IPYS/IFEX) – According to IPYS, on 7 May 1998, journalist Carlos Paredes and cameraman Roger Cordova of the ATV-Canal 9 programme “Sin Censura” (“Uncensored”), were detained in the city of Chiclayo (in northern Peru). They were detained at Peruvian Air Forces (FAP) Base #6 – Chiclayo. The journalists were held from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 […]

(IPYS/IFEX) – According to IPYS, on 7 May 1998, journalist Carlos Paredes
and cameraman Roger Cordova of the ATV-Canal 9 programme “Sin Censura”
(“Uncensored”), were detained in the city of Chiclayo (in northern Peru).
They were detained at Peruvian Air Forces (FAP) Base #6 – Chiclayo. The
journalists were held from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. (local time),
apparently for having committed offences against national security and
against the security of the Air Force Base. They were picked up at the
entrance to the Base with their camera equipment, which was turned on. The
journalists wanted to interview a public relations official in order to
determine the official version of a report of the crash of a combat plane.
According to Paredes, it is possible that the public relations official did
not want to see them because they had already finished the investigation two
days earlier. The journalists’ equipment was confiscated and their cassettes
were erased.

The journalists were then taken to the security office of the State police,
where their documents and equipment were inspected. According to IPYS, it
was clear that the journalists were not a security threat, and were simply
requesting information. According to information Paredes gave IPYS, the
journalists were treated well by police. They were freed at 1:00 p.m., after
signing statements and release documents. The journalists stated that after
they were released, they were followed by cars carrying FAP troops until
they left Chiclayo for Lima.

The detentions coincided with accusations of FAP discrimination in providing
information to certain media outlets, who were investigating an accident
involving an Air Force plane, in which 74 people died. According to IPYS,
FAP personnel favoured certain media outlets over others, limiting the
availability of information, especially interviews with survivors (who were
subjected to FAP security measures in a military hospital) and access to the
crash site in the Peruvian jungle.

Recommended Action

Ing. Alberto Fujimori

President of the Republic

Palacio de Gobierno

Plaza de Armas

Lima 1, Peru

Fax: +511 4266770 (or Press Secretary – Fax: +511 4266535)

Mayor Gral. FAP Santiago Dominguez Perdoma

Director of Information for the Air Force

Fax: +511 4332270