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Alert

Journalist threatened by community members after reporting on municipal meeting

(IPYS/IFEX) - On 8 October 2009, a group of 57 people, members of the community of La Cumbre, burst into the "El Diario" newspaper's headquarters in La Paz and detained journalist Julieta Nina, threatening to apply "communal justice" to her if the paper did not rectify a report published on 29 September.

The report in question stated that two thousand people had participated in a municipal meeting against La Paz Mayor Juan Del Granado. The community members gave the journalist a two day deadline to publish information saying that 150 people attended the meeting, not two thousand.

According to "El Diario", the community members went to the newsroom to talk with the journalist, but then detained and threatened her.

Germán Siñani, one of La Cumbre's leaders, denied that the members of his community had threatened Nina and stated that they are not affiliated with Mayor Del Granado.

The newspaper said it has filed a formal complaint against the attackers with the La Paz Prosecutor's Office.