The International Press Institute (IPI) today welcomes the landmark government settlement accepting full responsibility for the murder of two journalists from newspaper El Espectador in 1991 as a long overdue step forward in the fight for justice for the killing of journalists in Colombia.
IPI applauds the historic settlement agreement signed between the Colombian government and the families of journalist Julio Daniel Chaparro and photojournalist Jorge Torres, and hopes the agreement will lead to further progress in this and other cases of impunity in the country.
On 23 April, in an emotional ceremony attended by family members, journalists and civil society organisations who fought for justice in the case and government representatives, the state formally apologised and accepted full responsibility for the killing, as well as the three-decade wait for justice in the case.
The state also agreed to establish compensation mechanisms for the victims’ families and committed to passing a directive to prosecutors nationwide to ensure better handling of judicial investigations, including improved due diligence, better preservation of evidence and a specialised approach to probing cases involving the murder of journalists.
Chaparro, a journalist, writer and poet, and his photojournalist colleague Torres, had been killed almost exactly 34 years ago, on 24 April 1991, after they had travelled to the mining town of Segovia in the state of Antioquia to report on a massacre that had occurred three years previously by the National Liberation Army (ELN), a far-left guerrilla group.
Upon returning to their hotel, the pair were gunned down in cold blood by hitmen linked to the ELN. Although several militants from the group were arrested and charged, convictions were overturned and no one was ever brought to justice. A subsequent investigation was later closed in 1999 due to the lack of evidence, leaving the case in a state of total impunity.
In 2010, the families of Chapparo and Torres, with the help of press freedom organisations – including Colombia-based Fundación Para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP) – brought the case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). The Friendly Settlement Agreement reached between the state and the families resulted from successful mediation by the IACHR and negotiations supported by the rights groups.
“This ceremony is only possible thanks to the families,” Jonathan Bock, Executive Director of FLIP, said at the ceremony. “They are the ones who have been agents of memory, who have resisted oblivion and have challenged narratives that minimise or justify the violence.
“Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, daughters, and sons have lived with these absences for decades, often in silence, in private. And even so, they have demanded recognition, held on to their memories and emotions, and kept history alive in the face of denial policies. Today, they are here as public and collective actors, standing tall, claiming the memory of Jorge and Julio Daniel.”
Scott Griffen, Executive Director of IPI, praised the determination of the families to ensure the cycle of impunity was broken and accountability for the murders of Chapparo and Torres was finally achieved.
“We applaud the incredible resolve of the families of Julio Daniel Chaparro and Jorge Torres, who never gave up on securing justice. The acceptance of full responsibility of the state for the double murder, as well as the decades-long impunity, represents a major victory for them, and for the organisations which supported them, including the Fundación Para la Libertad de Prensa and the Inter American Press Association, as well as a vital step forward for justice.
“IPI also welcomes the pledge of the government to improve the system for judicial investigations into attacks on journalists and the commitment to reopen the judicial investigation in this killing, and will monitor the implementation of these pledges. We hope the subsequent probe will shed more light on those who carried out the murder and on whose orders they were acting.
“IPI hopes this settlement will act as a catalyst for further progress on press freedom in Colombia, where journalists face serious threats of violence and pressure. Attention must now turn to the multiple ongoing cases of impunity for the killings of journalists, which require renewed attention to bring all those responsible – from the hitmen up to the masterminds – to justice.”