The U.S State Department has reversed its decision to deny a visa to noted independent Colombian journalist Hollman Morris. Morris will now be able to travel to Harvard University to take up a year-long Nieman Foundation fellowship.
The journalist, who is well-known as a vocal critic of Columbia’s outgoing president Alvaro Uribe and his administration, was informed on 16 June that his visa had been rejected under the Patriot Act (2001) because of his alleged terrorist activities. No elaboration was given.
The U.S. State Department’s decision was met with condemnation from international rights groups around the world. In a July 7 letter to Arturo Valenzuela, U.S. assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, questioning this decision, IPI Director David Dadge said: “Our organization has had a working relationship with Mr. Morris for a number of years and we are surprised and concerned by this decision.”
Morris has been one of the most outspoken critics of the Colombian government in recent years. His influential television show, “Contravia,” documents the human rights violations resulting from the country’s long-running civil conflict. In the course of his reporting, Morris uncovered documents linking Colombian government officials to right-wing paramilitary operations.
His reports on the human costs of the long-running conflict with left-wing guerrilla group FARC have exposed him to repeated harassment from outgoing President Alvaro Uribe’s government, which once called him “an ally of terrorism” following his filming, in 2009, of the unilateral release of a number of hostages by FARC.
However, as IPI’s letter points out, the Colombian attorney general’s office investigated the incident and concluded there was no evidence to support the government’s allegation against Morris.
“I just got out of the U.S. Embassy and they gave me the visa. I’m really happy and I know that none of this would have been possible without you and all organizations who supported me,” said Morris in an email message to IPI and other groups that had called for a reversal of the decision.
“We are delighted and relieved that Hollman Morris has been granted a visa. The U.S State Department is to be warmly applauded for being prepared to review the case and for showing a willingness to reverse its original decision,” said IPI Director David Dadge.