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Legal Action
June 6
Miguel Pérez Julca, Radio Oriental, IMPRISONED, LEGAL ACTION
Pérez, a reporter with Radio Oriental, was arrested after he refused to appear before a tribunal in Chiclayo, in northwestern Peru, on charges of terrorism. He was released two days later after protests by a Peruvian congresswoman, local press freedom organizations, and colleagues. Pérez had been arrested in 1991 on the same charges and had spent two years in prison awaiting trial. In 1993, he was acquitted, but that decision was later annulled. Under Peru's anti-terrorism law, a person acquitted of terrorism can be summoned to court on the same charges if the court annuls the acquittal.
June 20
Julio Alberto Quevedo Chavez, El Tarapotino, LEGAL ACTION
Luis Humberto Hidalgo Sánchez, Radio Tarapoto, LEGAL ACTION
César Herrera Luna, El Achichito, LEGAL ACTION
Quevedo, director of the magazine El Tarapotino; Hidalgo, director of Radio Tarapoto; and Herrera, director of the magazine El Achichito, were charged with defaming the former manager of the water treatment service in the city of Tarapoto. The charges stemmed from comments the three journalists had made about a 50 percent increase in the cost of drinking water in Tarapoto. The journalists also alluded to the water treatment service manager's alleged links to the guerrilla group Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path). A judge imposed a 10 p.m. curfew on all three journalists and issued a “conditional freedom” order, which obligates them to ask for permission to leave Tarapoto. Quevedo, Hidalgo, and Herrera are currently awaiting trial.
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