Eight former officials of Colombia’s now defunct intelligence agency DAS will be questioned in connection with the psychological torture of an investigative journalist, the Prosecutor General’s Office announced Thursday.
According to Colombian news sources, the eight former officials, including a former deputy director, are being investigated for the persistent psychological torture of journalist Claudia Julieta Duque.
Investigations were launched when Duque made a complaint to the Prosecutor General’s Office in October 2004, in which she described the “systematic persecution and constant threats that she was subjected to as a result of her investigative work.”
According to a posting on the Prosecutor General’s official website, investigations have so far concluded that DAS was responsible for “irregular activities such as surveillance, wiretaps and threats.”
One of the accused in the case is Jose Miguel Narvaez, who is already under investigation for multiple other criminal charges, including masterminding the murder of journalist and humorist Jaime Garzon in 1999. Narvaez has been detained in a military garrison on the outskirts of Bogota since August 2009.
The current charges also mention the possible involvement of former DAS director Jorge Noguera, who was convicted of murder and conspiracy.by a Colombian court in September 2010 and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The exact date for questioning remains to be set, but will soon be announced by the office of the Prosecutor General.