TMCnet News
Colombian journalist receives death threatsBogota, May 15, 2009 (EFE via COMTEX) -- Caracol Radio correspondent Rodrigo Silva has received death threats, the Colombian broadcaster said Friday. The Bogota-based network said in a statement that the threats were made this week by three men who "said they belong to an armed group." The men "accosted a relative of our journalist to send him a direct message trying to intimidate him, showing details that made it evident there was a surveillance of the private life of the reporter and his family," Caracol said. Denouncing the threats against Silva, the network declared its "determined commitment to the search for truth, with rigor and news balance." Caracol said it reported the incident to the Colombian Attorney General's Office, which "has initiated an investigation." Colombia was until a few years ago one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists to ply their trade. A recent Inter-American Press Association report said 57 out of the 125 Colombian journalists sain between 1993 and 2007 were killed for reasons related to the exercise of their profession. In 2008, however, no reporters were murdered in Colombia, while one was killed in 2007 and six in 2006. EFE jgh/dr |