(IPYS/IFEX) – On 9 October 1998, United States (US) Senator Jesse Helms and Congressman Benjamin A. Gilman sent their second letter to President Alberto Fujimori concerning the political persecution of businessman Baruch Ivcher, who the government stripped of his citizenship on 13 July 1997 and of his ownership of the Frecuencia Latina/Channel 2 order to […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 9 October 1998, United States (US) Senator Jesse Helms and
Congressman Benjamin A. Gilman sent their second letter to President Alberto
Fujimori concerning the political persecution of businessman Baruch Ivcher,
who the government stripped of his citizenship on 13 July 1997 and of his
ownership of the Frecuencia Latina/Channel 2 order to sway the editorial
line of the television station.
**For background to cases, see IFEX alerts of 4 November, 16 September, 2
September, 18 August and 6 July 1998 (Paraíso mattress company case;) 27
October 1998 (adulterating books); 15 July, 6 July 1998 and other 1998
alerts, and 19 September 1997 (Channel 2/citizenship revoked)**
The letter, given to Fujimori during his last visit to Washington, DC, says
the Ivcher case reflects a clear threat to freedom of expression in Peru. It
also questions the recent criminal prosecution Ivcher and his associates are
being subjected to involving the Productos Paraíso del Perú mattress company
he owns.
IPYS is making the letter public, given its timeliness. IPYS’ unofficial
Spanish translation can be found in the Spanish-language version of this
alert, below.
CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20516
October 9, 1998
His Excellency Alberto Fujimori
President of the Republic of Peru
Lima, Peru
Dear Mr. President:
In June 1997 we wrote to you to express our concern about the case of Mr.
Baruch Ivcher. At that time, Mr. Ivcher’s Peruvian citizenship had been
revoked and his ownership and management rights in Channel 2 in Lima had
been effectively destroyed. We raised concerns about the impact of this case
on freedom of the press in Peru and on the apparent anti-Semitism involved
in relying on Mr. Ivcher’s birth in Israel to deprive him of his
citizenship.
We have never received your reply to our letter, and in the ensuing months
the situation appears to have worsened significantly. As we feared, and as
the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Inter-American Press
Association have noted, this case represents a clear threat to press freedom
in Peru and sends an implicit warning to critics of the government. In
addition, this case has involved what many Peruvians, including the bar
association in Lima, have called outright interference in the independence
of the judiciary.
We note that, far from having his citizenship and property restored, Mr.
Ivcher now is being subjected to criminal prosecution involving his other
properties in Peru. The judicial procedures employed against Mr. Ivcher have
been described by Peruvian legal experts as completely irregular and as
political interference with the judicial process. Worse yet, the case is
taking [an] increasingly ugly [turn], as Mr. Ivcher’s wife and daughters
are now under investigation and are to be prosecuted, as well.
As we suggested to you in our letter last June, the Ivcher case does
enormous harm to your government’s reputation. As we did last year, we
strongly urge you to turn away from this path before additional damage is
done to your own reputation and to that of Peru. Due to our own deep belief
in freedom of the press and in judicial independence and our continuing
interest in Peru, we will continue to follow the Ivcher case closely and
look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Jesse Helms
Chairman
Committee on Foreign Relations
Senate
Benjamin A. Gilman
Chairman
Committee on International Relations
Congress
