Series of death threats issued against the president and journalists from “elPeriódico”

(WiPC/IFEX) – In a 12 April 2001 letter to President Alfonso Portillo, WiPC expressed concern over the series of death threats issued against the president and journalists from daily newspaper “elPeriodico”. According to WiPC sources, on 27 March, journalist Silvia Gereda was attacked and threatened by an unknown assailant. The attacker warned that Gereda and […]

(WiPC/IFEX) – In a 12 April 2001 letter to President Alfonso Portillo, WiPC expressed concern over the series of death threats issued against the president and journalists from daily newspaper “elPeriodico”.

According to WiPC sources, on 27 March, journalist Silvia Gereda was attacked and threatened by an unknown assailant. The attacker warned that Gereda and her two colleagues, Luis Escobar and Enrique Castañeda, would be killed if they continued to publish articles about the alleged corruption of the National Mortgage Credit Bank (Banco de Crédito Hipotecario Nacional, CHN).

Sources also reported that on 30 March, journalist Walter Martín Juárez Ruiz was attacked by two unknown assailants in the centre of the capital city. While he was held at gunpoint, his attackers threatened to kill him, as well as the three aforementioned journalists and president of “elPeriodico” José Ruben Zamora, because of the articles published about the bank.

Recommended Action

– protesting the threats against “elPeriodico” and its employees
– requesting that he guarantee the physical wellbeing of all the daily’s staff
– demanding that the authorities launch an investigation into the incident, in order to shed light on the source of the threats and to punish the perpetrators

Appeals To