Letter on Behalf of Cecilia Valenzuela

Nelly Calderon, Fiscal de la Nacion
Ministerio Publico
Av. Abancay Cuadra 5 s/n
Lima, Peru

August 4, 2005

Dear Mr. Calderon:

We are writing on behalf of the International Women’s Media Foundation because we are deeply concerned about the threats against journalist Cecilia Valenzuela, host of La Ventana Indiscreta, which is aired on Lima’s Frecuencia Latina station.

According to reports from the International Freedom of Expression Exchange, Valenzuela received a message on her cell phone from an anonymous caller who threatened to broadcast a tape of a “compromising” conversation involving Valenzuela if she did not cease her investigations of the National Police and Interior Minister Felix Murazzo. Valenzuela says she believes the conversation is 14 years old and is the same one that former intelligence chief Vladimiro Montesinos had threatened to reveal publicly in the past. She says that the only thing the allegedly “compromising” conversation proves is that her telephone was tapped in the past.

In the past few weeks, Valenzuela has aired several reports about the ties between Murazzo and Montesinos. She believes Murazzo is responsible for the threat.

In 1993, the IWMF honored Valenzuela with the Courage in Journalism Award for investigations of corruption during former President Alberto Fujimori’s regime. In the past, she has been subjected to threats from both Fujimori and Montesinos. We are alarmed that these threats signal repression of free expression and press freedom in Peru.

As a network of more than 1,500 women and men in the media around the world who are supporters of a worldwide free press, we respectfully urge you to do everything in your power to take immediate action in order to guarantee the safety of Cecilia Valenzuela and to investigate threats against her and prosecute those responsible. By using the weight of your office to ensure that justice is done and that these journalists are given the full protection of the law, you will take a strong step toward preserving a free and independent press in Peru.

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

Larry Olmstead
Co-Chair
IWMF

Eleanor Clift
Co-Chair
IWMF

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