Foundation for Press Freedom – FLIP

On the body of journalist Jineth Bedoya Lima are the marks of a war that, much like her, many victims in the country have endured. Her story is set deep in her eyes and her words represent the dignity of a survivor who fights for truth and justice.

This was a decision made by the journalist and motivated by the vast contradictions in the authorities’ treatment of her case. There is public recognition of her struggle for justice, but the State does not accept any responsibility for what happened to her.

This week FLIP accompanied journalist Jineth Bedoya Lima to an IACHR hearing on her case to urge the Colombian government to guarantee, within the framework of judicial processes taking place in the country, that justice is served.

A trial has started in Colombia which has no precedent anywhere in the world. Journalist Claudia Julieta Duque will testify in the trial against three members of the now-disbanded Administrative Department of Security (DAS), who are accused of having tortured her psychologically.

Free expression organisations join the Media Foundation for West Africa in calling on African regional body to pressure The Gambia to release journalist Alhagie Abdoulie Ceesay.

After more than 15 years of absolute impunity, the judicial proceedings that followed the torture, kidnapping and sexual violence that Jineth Bedoya was subject to in May 2000 have resulted in a sentence for Alejandro Cárdenas Calderón, alias J.J.

The Foundation for Press Freedom views the decision of the Attorney General’s Office as appropriate, taking into consideration that both of the accused men have provided contradictory statements in their accounts relating to the case.

Fifteen years after the brutal attack on the investigative journalist, and following many legal delays, Mario Jaimes Mejía has confessed, and recognized that the crimes he was charged with are crimes against humanity.