South American news network Telesur on Tuesday defended former employee William Parra after a Colombian judge issued an arrest warrant against him over his alleged links to the FARC.
According to Telesur, journalist Parra left the station in April 2008 and “always acted with integrity and professional quality” while working for the television network.
The network described the arrest warrant as “a new attempt to criminalize his informative work,” which is critical of the Colombian government.
The network quoted a press release by Parra, in which he says he will challenge the trial against him before international bodies.
According to Telesur, the journalist says he is innocent and that he and his defense attorney were not allowed access to the alleged evidence against him, preventing him having a fair trial.
Parra is accused of having had friendly relations with FARC commander “Raul Reyes” before he was killed by Colombian armed forced in Ecuador in 2008. According to prosecutors, Parra helped finance the FARC’s fight against the Colombian state.