(IPYS/IFEX) – On 14 August 2007, journalist Julio Mendoza Escobar was prevented from entering the Alto Amazonas council building by a group of security guards. The journalist was planning to cover a book launch. The guards also took from him copies of the “La Voz de la Calle” newspaper, for which he writes and which […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 14 August 2007, journalist Julio Mendoza Escobar was prevented from entering the Alto Amazonas council building by a group of security guards. The journalist was planning to cover a book launch. The guards also took from him copies of the “La Voz de la Calle” newspaper, for which he writes and which he also distributes. The incident occurred in Yurimaguas, Loreto region, northeastern Peru.
According to the journalist, this is not the first time he has been prevented from entering the town council. He believes this is due to his articles on Mayor Víctor Hidalgo Rojas, whom he has accused of nepotism, embezzlement, overestimating the costs of public works, and other misdemeanors.
The mayor told IPYS that he was not behind the journalist’s ill treatment; but added that Mendoza’s articles made him “uncomfortable”.
In a related development, journalist Giovanni Acate, director of Radio Oriente in Yurimaguas, said that his radio station reported on the incident involving Mendoza and the council immediately decided to withdraw all advertisements broadcast by the station. Acate told IPYS that the mayor complained to the radio station’s owners and then withdrew the spots.
