Uruguay

Resolution of the Midyear Meeting Quito, Ecuador WHEREAS between the night of October 17 and dawn of October 18, 2005, journalist Marcelo Borrat was kidnapped, tortured and threatened with death by three hooded men who demanded at gunpoint that he destroy tapes in his possession WHEREAS the IAPA, in a letter from president Diana Daniels and the chairman of the Committee on the Freedom of the Press and Information, Gonzalo Marroquín, called on the president of Uruguay, Tabaré Vázquez, to resolve this case quickly to avoid “setting an ill-fated precedent” WHEREAS the Uruguayan journalists´union has repeatedly demanded that “authorities of the police and justice system thoroughly investigate the case and punish the guilty parties” WHEREAS six months after the kidnapping, the police have not identified a single suspect and that judicial investigations have not produced any results WHEREAS the continued impunity of the perpetrators of the kidnapping and torture of the journalist, intended to silence him, encourages this type of crime to be repeated WHEREAS Article 4 of the Declaration of Chapultepec establishes: “Freedom of expression and of the press are severely limited by murder, terrorism, kidnapping, intimidation, the unjust imprisonment of journalists, the destruction of facilities, violence of any kind and impunity for perpetrators. Such acts must be investigated promptly and punished harshly.” THE MIDYEAR MEETING OF THE IAPA RESOLVES to reiterate IAPA´s repudiation of this attack on press freedom to demand that police and judicial authorities intensify their efforts to locate the perpetrators and masterminds behind this crime and bring them to justice.