(IPYS/IFEX) – On 18 August 2003, a recording of a telephone conversation between President Alejandro Toledo and one of his advisors was broadcast on journalist César Hildebrandt’s programme “En la Boca del Lobo”. The television programme airs at 11:00 p.m. (local time), from Monday to Friday, on the Frecuencia Latina, Channel 2 station. On the […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 18 August 2003, a recording of a telephone conversation between President Alejandro Toledo and one of his advisors was broadcast on journalist César Hildebrandt’s programme “En la Boca del Lobo”. The television programme airs at 11:00 p.m. (local time), from Monday to Friday, on the Frecuencia Latina, Channel 2 station.
On the morning of 19 August, while speaking to the press, Toledo threatened to launch legal action against anyone who “disseminated” the information. Subsequently, during an event organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Peru (AmCham Peru), the president said, “what was shown on television last night went beyond the acceptable limits of freedom of expression in a democracy. It was an infringement on the president’s private conversation.” The president said legal action would be taken against anyone who intercepted his private conversations and those who “disseminated the conversations irresponsibly.”
During the 19 August edition of his programme, Hildebrandt said he did not fear facing legal action. He explained that he had aired the recording because he felt it was of interest to the public and “important from a social, political and moral standpoint.” He did not feel that it had been an invasion of the president’s privacy.
According to Hildebrandt, the taped conversation demonstrates that the president does not use encryption technology and that his telephone can be easily intercepted, which the journalist felt was irresponsible.
Attorney Julia Yanac has launched a preliminary investigation to identify those responsible for intercepting the president’s telephone conversation. Hildebrandt was summoned to provide a copy of the recording and asked to explain how he had obtained it. The journalist has emphatically refused to identify his sources.
