Freedom of Expression

Peru

Threats and Attacks

1.      On April 13, 2001, the journalist Clemente Yatas Ayala of Frecuencia Popular Radio was physically attacked by former governor Ney Delgado Zuñiga and suffered a series of injuries and bruises.  The journalist had reported alleged connections between the official and misappropriations of funds during the government of former president Alberto Fujimori.  The journalist notes that prior to this incident, he had received several threats from the ex-governor.[1]

2.      On October 31, 2001, Juan Carlos Hidalgo Sayán, a cameraman with Canal N television was violently attacked by the members of the national police and the local patrol from the municipality of El Rímac; the incident occurred as he was filming the eviction of a group of market traders.  His camera was also momentarily confiscated.[2]

3.      On December 17, 2001, journalist Elizabeth Huamán Perales, a correspondent for América Televisión Canal 4 in Huancayo, was physically attacked while covering President Alejandro Toledo’s visit to the city.  The attack was allegedly carried out by individuals with ties to the Perú Posible political party, who attacked her and confiscated her camera.[3]

Judicial Actions

4.      In June 2001 the journalists Jesús Alfonso Castiglione Mendoza, Martín Gómez Arquiño, and Hugo González Henostroza were sued for defamation and libel by retired Colonel Ildorfo Cueva Retuerto in the city of Huaraz.  The origin of the suit was information gathered by the journalists and published by the daily Liberación on March 19, 2001, questioning the appointment of the retired colonel to the position of prefect of Ancash region because of human rights violations.  Alonso Castiglione, a journalist with the magazine Caretas, was also included in the same suit after he published, in that magazine, a letter expressing doubts about the appointment.  According to reports, the journalists were acquitted of the charges of libel and defamation on August 17, 2001.[4]

Legislation

5.      As this report went to press, the Peruvian Congress was studying a bill that would introduce legislation to abolish the crime of desacato contempt by repealing Article 374 of the Criminal Code.  The Rapporteur expressed his satisfaction at that bill’s existence in the Annual Report for the year 2000, when he urged the authorities to adopt the proposal since the elimination of desacato crimes would represent a major step forward with respect to freedom of expression in Peru and would set an example for other states in the region.[5] The Rapporteur emphasizes the need for legislative steps to be taken to repeal Peru’s desacato laws, which, as has been pointed out on several occasions, clearly restrict the right of free expression.

1889 F St. N.W. Washington, DC, U.S.A. 20006 / E-mail: cidhoea@oas.org / Phone: (202) 370-9000 / Fax: (202) 458-3650