(IPYS/IFEX) – On 19 December 2007, journalist Rosario Orihuela Laus, producer of television station Canal 4’s programme “Al Rojo Vivo”, reported to IPYS that, since August 2007, she has received more than fifteen death threats through her e-mail or anonymous calls to her cell phone, in which she has been insulted and warned that she […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 19 December 2007, journalist Rosario Orihuela Laus, producer of television station Canal 4’s programme “Al Rojo Vivo”, reported to IPYS that, since August 2007, she has received more than fifteen death threats through her e-mail or anonymous calls to her cell phone, in which she has been insulted and warned that she will soon be murdered. She received the last e-mailed threat on 18 December. The incidents took place in the Huánuco region, in central Peru.
The journalist does not rule out the possibility that the threats may be in response to her current journalistic activities, but she also suspects that they may be from Willy Ibarra, former correspondent of state-run television station IRTP, who was replaced by her in July. Orihuela Laus worked for IRTP until the end of November, when she decided to leave for fear that the threats she had been receiving since August would be acted upon. She told IPYS that she had informed the station about what was happening, but no action was taken.
The journalist will request protection from the local government and will present her case before the Office of the Ombudsman (Defensoría del Pueblo).
IPYS condemns the threats and requests that Huánuco’s authorities investigate the case.
