His Excellency President Alberto Fujimori
Palacio Nacional
Lima
Peru

Vienna, 4 August 1994

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), is most concerned about the case of Enrique Zileri, director of the weekly news magazine Caretas, and the recent judicial order to impound his property.

On 25 July 1994 the acting judge of Lima’s 15th district court, Cecilia Suarez Claros, ruled against Mr. Zileri in a libel suit filed by Carlos Langberg. We are informed that on the same day, police officers arrived at Mr. Zileri’s residence and attempted to seize his property.

IPI understands that before Judge Suarez Claros’s ruling, the lawsuit filed by Mr. Langberg had been found without merit by Lima’s 6th and 13th district courts. Mr. Langberg sued Mr. Zileri, who is well known for his exposés of government corruption and human rights abuses, after an article published in Caretas described Mr. Langberg as a convicted drug trafficker, an accusation which Mr. Zileri maintains is backed by court documents.

IPI, representing editors and leading journalists from newspapers, magazines, broadcasting organisations and news agencies in over 80 countries, is deeply concerned about the irregularities of the court case and the attempt by the police to seize Mr. Zileri’s assets. We urge you to initiate a thorough examination of the judicial grounds that led Judge Suarez Claros to rule against Mr. Zileri.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director