OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION EXPRESSES SERIOUS CONCERN ABOUT THREATS TO THREE COLOMBIAN JOURNALISTS
Washington, D.C., May 18, 2005. The Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expresses its serious concern about the threats that were recently received by three Colombian journalists.
According to the information received by the Office of the Special Rapporteur, at the beginning of this week journalists Carlos Lozano Guillén, Hollman Morris and Daniel Coronell were the objects of death threats that consisted of sending floral arrangements (wreaths) as if they were intended for the journalists’ funerals.
The Office of the Special Rapporteur views positively the fact that this act has been condemned from the highest governmental offices, which have also encouraged the investigation. The Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, Eduardo Bertoni, calls upon the State to redouble its efforts to protect the personal integrity of journalists and to guarantee the exercise of freedom of expression and of the press, without which the foundation of democracy will be weakened.
The Office of the Special Rapporteur reiterates that the murder of journalists and threats against them are the most brutal means of restricting freedom of expression. As stated in Principle 9 of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression, “The murder, kidnapping, intimidation of and/or threats to social communicators, as well as the material destruction of communications media, violate the fundamental rights of individuals and strongly restrict freedom of expression.” Finally, the Office of the Special Rapporteur recalls that the American Convention on Human Rights, to which Colombia is a party, establishes that states have the duty to prevent, investigate, and sanction any violation of the human rights recognized in the Convention.