EQUIPO NIZKOR |
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27Apr11
NUJ concern at deportation to Colombia of director of Anncol news website
The deportation to Colombia from Venezuela this week (April 25) of journalist Joaquín Pérez Becerra has been described as 'a matter of grave concern' by the National Union of Journalists.
He is a survivor of the genocide against the Patriotic Union political party, and went into exile in Sweden 20 years ago, where he was granted Swedish citizenship. The Colombian authorities have accused him of being a member of the FARC guerrilla group, with the alleged evidence based on the computers of FARC commander Raul Reyes, killed during an army operation in 2008.
Alleged evidence from the computers has been used in several legal cases against journalists and members of the political opposition and has been widely discredited, with claims that it has been an excuse to carry out a witch-hunt of critics of the Colombian regime.
NUJ general secretaryJeremy Dear said: "The NUJ has worked closely with Colombian journalists for several years. We are well aware of the severe restrictions put on freedom of expression, and the alarming number of independent journalists murdered in Colombia simply for exposing state crimes and opposing the regime.
"We are also aware of the large numbers of political prisoners in Colombian jails, including trade unionists, human rights activists and academics, imprisoned for opposing the regime’s policies and exercising their democratic right to protest. We know of many cases where prisoners have been denied due process and kept for several years without trial on the basis of non-credible evidence.
“We do not believe that Mr Perez Becerra will be guaranteed due process or given fair treatment in Colombia.”
April, 27 2011
National Union of Journalists.
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