11 March 2003

JOURNALIST KILLED


Radio journalist Oscar Salazar Jaramillo was found stabbed to death in his home yesterday in Sevilla, Colombia. Local authorities did not indicate whether Salazar had received threats, Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) says.

Salazar owned and managed Radio Sevilla and was presenter of the local news program, "Sevilla en 7 días." He had previously reported on municipal government corruption in Sevilla, notes RSF.

Salazar was also a former municipal politician and member of the local chamber of commerce, and was an elected parliamentarian for the Popular National Alliance party (Alianza Nacional Popular, ANAPO) during the 1970s.

Salazar is the first Colombian journalist killed this year, according to RSF statistics. In 2002, five were killed, 60 attacked or threatened, and more than 20 forced to flee into exile, RSF says.

His murder comes just before a major gathering of press-freedom groups, including several IFEX members, in Bogotá next week. Hosted by the Organisation of American States' Special Rapporteur on Free Expression and a coalition of Colombian organisations, including the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundacion para libertad de prensa, FLIP), the conference will be held 19-20 March and focus on strategies and actions to address attacks against journalists and impunity in Colombia.

IFEX members attending include RSF, the Institute for Press and Society, (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and the Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN (WiPC).

For information on the conference, contact the Antonio Nariño Project: pan@fescol.org.co. ">mailto:pan@fescol.org.co">pan@fescol.org.co.

Visit these links:

- RSF/IPYS Report: The Press as a Military Target: www.rsf.org">http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=317">www.rsf.org

- Colombia Journalists' Solidarity Centre: www.ifj.org">http://www.ifj.org/regions/latam/colombia.html">www.ifj.org

- Human Rights Watch: www.hrw.org/americas/colombia">http://www.hrw.org/americas/colombia.php">www.hrw.org/americas/colombia

- CPJ: www.cpj.org">http://www.cpj.org">www.cpj.org

- OAS Rapporteur: www.cidh.oas.org">http://www.cidh.org/Relatoria/default.htm">www.cidh.oas.org

- Foundation for Press Freedom: www.flip.org.co">http://www.flip.org.co">www.flip.org.co

- Media for Peace: www.mediosparalapaz.org">http://www.mediosparalapaz.org">www.mediosparalapaz.org

- International Media Support: www.i-m-s.dk




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Also from the Communiqué, 11 March 2003

SOUTH AFRICA: DATE SET FOR AFRICAN EDITORS' CONFERENCE 11 March 2003 ISRAEL: ISRAELI JOURNALIST WINS UNESCO PRESS-FREEDOM PRIZE 11 March 2003 INTERNATIONAL: IAPA CONTEST SEEKS BEST ESSAY ON PRESS FREEDOM 11 March 2003 SRI LANKA: IPI MISSION CHEERED BY PRESS-FREEDOM CONDITIONS 11 March 2003 INTERNATIONAL: WAN SEEKS WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY INFO 11 March 2003 MONTENEGRO: CONFERENCE EXAMINES DEFAMATION LAWS 11 March 2003 BURUNDI: RADIO STATIONS BARRED FROM AIRING REBEL STATEMENTS 11 March 2003 INTERNATIONAL: HRW SPOTLIGHTS CHINA, IRAN AT UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION 11 March 2003 IRAQ: PRESS-FREEDOM GROUPS URGE MEDIA PROTECTION 11 March 2003

Colombia

FLIP condemns attack against journalist and former minister Fernando Londoño 16 May 2012 French journalist's whereabouts unknown 1 May 2012 Journalists flee homes after receiving threats 24 April 2012 Journalist flees after FARC threats 24 April 2012 Journalist's murderer gets 21 years in jail, but motive is still unknown 4 April 2012 See all alerts: Colombia


South America

PERU: Newspaper director and editor receive e-mail death threats 22 May 2012 VENEZUELA: Journalist receives kidnapping threats, allegedly from local government 18 May 2012 BRAZIL: New Access to Information Law comes into effect 17 May 2012 ECUADOR: Government uses telecast to discredit journalist, human rights report 16 May 2012


 
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