Gunmen on motorbikes shot dead two journalists in northern Colombia on Sunday as they returned from covering a popular carnival on the country’s Caribbean coast, AFP reported, citing police.
The Freedom of the Press Foundation called on the authorities to take into account the work of journalists in the investigation (illustrative image) | Photo: Santiago Arcos | Source: Reuters
Andres Serna said Lener Montero Ortega, 37, and Delia Contreras Cantillo, 39, were driving along the road between the towns of El Cope and the Fondation when they were approached by “criminals on motorbikes,” and they “shot journalists with a pistol.” , Chief of Police in the Magdalena District.
Both journalists worked on Sol Digital’s server. SIRNA said the attack also wounded a person receiving medical care. He did not specify whether a journalist was also injured.
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According to the first results of the investigation, the double murder could be linked to an “act of intolerance”, as the Colombian police call disputes that turned into physical violence, only during the carnival in the city of Santa Rosa de Lima, which is located about 16 kilometers from the Fundación .
But the Freedom of the Press Association asked the authorities to “take into account the journalistic work of Lehner and Daily” in the investigation. According to this NGO, violence against journalists in the country increased in 2021, with 768 attacks, including one murder.
“We condemn the killing of journalists,” Juan Papier of the NGO Human Rights Watch wrote on Twitter.
Senate President Roy Barreras of the ruling leftist coalition condemned the “attack on democratic life” and demanded that the crime be abolished. Senator Alerio Parreira of the right-wing opposition also expressed his condolences and stated that journalists devoted his campaign to the parliamentary elections in March.
Ten journalists have been killed since a peace deal was signed with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in 2016, making Colombia the third most dangerous country for journalists in Latin America, after Venezuela and Mexico, according to Reporters Without Borders.
