(FLIP/IFEX) – On 10 December 2004, at 11:15 a.m. (local time), a news crew for the regional “Llano 7 Días” newspaper, owned by the El Tiempo publishing house, was held up by unidentified individuals and prevented from carrying out its work. The assailants robbed journalist Jhon Alfonso Moreno Correa, photojournalist Hernando Herrera Estrada and driver […]
(FLIP/IFEX) – On 10 December 2004, at 11:15 a.m. (local time), a news crew for the regional “Llano 7 Días” newspaper, owned by the El Tiempo publishing house, was held up by unidentified individuals and prevented from carrying out its work. The assailants robbed journalist Jhon Alfonso Moreno Correa, photojournalist Hernando Herrera Estrada and driver Jorge Alonso Peña Gutiérrez of their equipment and vehicle near Jardín de Peñas, in Meta department, eastern Colombia.
The news crew was intercepted by two armed men in civilian clothing who told them that they would not be allowed to go any further. Another five armed individuals then appeared and insisted that the news crew take them to an unspecified location. The journalists refused, saying they were not allowed to transport armed individuals in a company vehicle. The group of men then proceeded to rob them of their photographic equipment, tape recorders, radio equipment, mobile phones, money and the van in which they were travelling.
The journalists said that an hour and a half later, before releasing them, the robbers told them that the attack was in retaliation for information they had published. They then stopped a passing vehicle and told the driver to take the news crew to Granada, Meta.
Several reporters in the region told FLIP that the incident could be related to articles published in May about the difficult situation faced by residents of the La Julia community and the presence of guerrilla forces in the area. One of the journalists claimed to have seen one of the assailants among a group of guerrillas during a previous visit to the region.
The “Llano 7 Días” news crew was on its way to Uribe to cover the inauguration of an electricity project and investigate a number of assassinations in the area. As a result of the hold up, however, they were unable to complete their work.
FLIP urges the authorities to ensure that journalists can move freely throughout Colombia.
