(IPYS/IFEX) – On 29 November 2006, officials of the Ministry of the Interior (Ministerio de Gobierno) confiscated documents related to alleged administrative irregularities which took place in the Migrations Office in the city of Santa Cruz, eastern Bolivia, in the possession of journalist José Antonio Quisbert, of the newspaper “Nuevo Día”. Ministry personnel detained Quisbert […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 29 November 2006, officials of the Ministry of the Interior (Ministerio de Gobierno) confiscated documents related to alleged administrative irregularities which took place in the Migrations Office in the city of Santa Cruz, eastern Bolivia, in the possession of journalist José Antonio Quisbert, of the newspaper “Nuevo Día”. Ministry personnel detained Quisbert for several minutes in the Migrations Office headquarters in order to confiscate the documents he had been given by its former director, Olga Espinoza. According to the journalist, the order was issued by Vice-minister Rubén Gamarra, who was on the premises at the time, appointing the new director.
According to Quisbert, there was a report among the documents that would have linked the vice-minister to irregularities in the migration processes.
The vice-minister justified his action by stating that the confiscated documents were reports that concern only the migrations department.
IPYS believes that the officials’ behaviour undermines press freedom.
