JURISDICTION OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE EXPANDED TO ENABLE IT TO INVESTIGATE OFFENSES AGAINST WORKING JOURNALISTS

Regarding the expansion of jurisdiction of an agency of the Judiciary JURISDICTION OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE EXPANDED TO ENABLE IT TO INVESTIGATE OFFENSES AGAINST WORKING JOURNALISTS Through Resolution No. 1956-2010-MP-FN the Attorney General, Dr. Gladys Echaíz Ramos, ordered that the National District Attorney’s Office and the Lima District Attorney’s Offices deal, in addition to their duties, with the offenses of homicide, murder, serious injury, kidnapping and extortion committed against journalists in the course of their doing their work. The Attorney General’s instruction is made in line with what was ordered by the Judiciary’s Executive Council in Administrative Resolution No, 187-2010-CE-PJ, which extends the jurisdiction of the National Criminal Court and the Lima Provincial Criminal Courts in order to deal with these offenses. In this regard, the Senior Coordinating Public Prosecutor of the National Attorney General’s Office, Dr. Víctor Manuel Cubas Villanueva, explained that the prosecution agency is made up of three leading district attorney’s offices with national jurisdiction that consist of four district attorney’s offices in Lima, two in Ayacucho, one in Huancavelica, one in Junín, and one in Huánuco, which deal principally with cases of violation of human rights. It is this specialized entity that has been given wider jurisdiction to enable it henceforth to investigate and file charges concerning the offenses specified above that are committed against members of the press while they are performing their role of investigative reporting. The Attorney General’s Office’ order is aimed at putting the investigation in the hands of specialized organizations, which would ensure the effectiveness of the investigative process and bringing the guilty to justice. “With these actions press unions and companies may be assured that in the event of these offenses being committed action will be taken with the greatest independence and objectivity and in reasonable timeframes in order to solve the crimes and punish those responsible,” Cubas Villanueva declared. Lima, December 1, 2010