The Inter American Press Association (SIP) Tuesday denounced attacks on Colombian journalist, who fled her home after being attacked, the organization demands an investigation.
The chairman of the committee for Freedom of Press and Information of SIP, Claudio Paolillo, expressed solidarity with the Colombian journalist, who Monday had to flee after gunmen attack her home.
An increase of attacks of the lives of journalists concerns the organization. In a statement, SIP called on the Colombian government to investigate and find those responsible for the attack on Amalfi Rosales, and punish the perpetrators.
A reporter for Barranquilla newspaper El Heraldo and public television news Noticias Uno, Amalfi Rosales told the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that she began to receive threats after reporting on alleged connections between former governor of the La Guajira state and criminal gangs in November 2013.
The aggression culminated on Friday, when gunmen shattered her windows and penetrated the front wall in her home, forcing her to flee.
Rosales said she did not know when or if she will return to her home in the town of Barrancas. She is now in Bogota where she is seeking protection from the National Protection Unit (UNP).
Reporters Without Borders has asked the UNP to take action and provide adequate protection.
2014: 2 journalists dead
2014 has been a tough year for journalism after the killing of two reporters.
Veteran journalist Luis Eduardo Cardozo, 65, was assassinated in his home on September 24.
MORE: Veteran journalist of over 40 years assassinated in Cali, Colombia
Carlos Cervantes, a journalist from the north of Colombia, was killed just weeks before while on his way to pick up his son from school.
He told authorities that he had received death threats few weeks before his death, but was reportedly ignored by the UNP.
MORE: Colombia journalist gunned down after years of death threats
Sources
- SIP reclama por agresiones en México, Colombia y Bolivia (Inter American Press Association)
- Colombian journalist Amalfi Rosales flees after death threats (CPJ)