(RSF/IFEX) – On 16 May 2003, RSF voiced great concern about an alleged case of police spying on the weekly “El Espectador”, implicating Interior and Justice Minister Fernando Londoño Hoyos. In a letter to Prosecutor General Edgardo Maya, RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard asked to be kept informed of progress in the investigation launched by the […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On 16 May 2003, RSF voiced great concern about an alleged case of police spying on the weekly “El Espectador”, implicating Interior and Justice Minister Fernando Londoño Hoyos.
In a letter to Prosecutor General Edgardo Maya, RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard asked to be kept informed of progress in the investigation launched by the Prosecutor’s Office.
“This is an extremely serious matter,” Ménard said in the letter. “Spying on the news media violates the confidentiality of sources, which is the founding principle of investigative journalism.”
In an 11 May article, “El Espectador” revealed that members of the police secret service obtained a copy of the first draft of an investigative piece by the weekly on alleged irregularities involving the Banco del Pacífico bank. The report, which was later published, claimed that loans were made to persons linked to the bank’s board of governors in 1997, when Londoño was bank chairman.
The weekly alleged that the police director general, General Teodoro Campo, gave the copy of the first draft to Londoño. The minister has denied this, saying he received it anonymously, in an unmarked envelope. Campo has denied any involvement in the matter.
