Peru: Murder of journalist Sonia Alvarado highlights the threats women journalists face in Latin America
December 11, 2019 — The Coalition For Women In Journalism is devastated to learn about the murder of Peruvian journalist Sonia Isabel Alvarado Huayunga. We urge the Peruvian authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the killing and ensure the provision of justice to Sonia and her family.
Sonia went missing on December 7. Her body was found buried in a ditch with visible signs of blows and strangulation two days later in Carabanchel, Datem del Marañón a province in northeastern Peru. The 28-year-old journalist was an announcer at Radio Láser and also worked in the public relations department of Datem del Marañón’s municipality.
According to investigations so far, Sonia’s ex-husband Felipe Cáceres Rodríguez is the chief suspect and has been arrested by the police. Reports suggest that the suspect had quarreled with our colleague and had also threatened her multiple times. We demand local authorities to conduct an in-depth inquiry and get to the depths of the matter by all means.
As per reports by local media, Sonia had been probing into illegal logging in the region and her ex-husband is known to be allegedly involved in the crime. The Loreto region, where our colleague was based, is notorious for drug trafficking, corruption and illegal logging. According to the staff at Radio Láser, Sonia was keen to help eliminate these issues in the region.
Sonia’s murder is not as simple as it appears to be. There is definitely a lot more to it that requires comprehensive probing.
Journalists, especially women journalists, often sacrifice their comfort and lives to uphold the values of press freedom. The Latin American region is infamous for its treatment of journalists and several have been killed in the line of duty. Our colleague, too, may have lost her life while performing her job.
We demand investigators consider every little detail regarding our colleague’s killing and bring the culprit to justice.
Originally published at http://cfwij.wordpress.com on December 11, 2019.
