March 29, 2024

Press Freedom

Ecuador

Assault of Ecuadorian Sports Reporter Is Deplorable


H.E. Rafael Correa Delgado

Constitutional President

Palacio de Carondelet

Quito

Republic of Ecuador

Fax: (011.593.2) 58.07.35


Your Excellency:


The Overseas Press Club of America (OPC) joins our Ecuadorian colleagues in calling upon your government to investigate a vicious attack earlier this month against sports reporter, Guido Manolo Campaña.


Campaña, a reporter for the Guayaquil-based daily, El Universo, was abducted, beaten and threatened while on assignment in the northern coastal province of Esmeraldas, according to a report in his newspaper. Two gunmen pulled Campaña off a bus while he was en route to Esmeraldas to investigate allegations that a professional soccer player was using another person’s identity, according to El Universo. The gunmen blindfolded and bound Campaña, and then drove him to a house in an unknown location where four captors beat, threatened and interrogated him about his assignment, according to El Universo’s own reporting. When Campaña was allowed to answer a call from the paper at around 2:30 p.m., he instructed an editor not to publish his reporting on the identity case.


About seven hours after his abduction, Campaña told the newspaper, he was taken to the south Esmeraldas neighborhood of Tiwinza. Before dropping off the journalist, the captors said they would kill him and hurt his family if his reporting on the case was made public. According to Campaña, his assailants then stole his camera, voice recorder, cell phone and a notebook.


Campaña has filed a complaint with local authorities in Esmeraldas. His newspaper has provided him with two private security guards at his home and one to accompany him if he leaves the house. According to Campaña, local police have also offered protection.


It disturbs us deeply that a professional journalist should have to live in fear of attack simply for doing his job. We urge you to do all in your authority to press Ecuadoran authorities to find, arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of this assault.


Ecuador is one of the great democracies of Latin America, and your support for or colleague Guido Manolo Campaña will send a strong message that the nation will not tolerate such assaults on the country’s investigative journalists and its tradition of free inquiry.


Respectfully yours,

Arlene Getz
Kevin McDermott

Freedom of the Press Committee


cc:


El Universo

politica@eluniverso.com


Ambassador Luis Benigno Gallegos Chiriboga

Embassy of the Republic of Ecuador

2535 Fifteenth Street, NW

Washington, DC 20009

Fax: (202) 667.3482


H.E. Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa

Permanent Mission of the Republic of Ecuador

to the United Nations

866 United Nations Plaza

New York, NY 10017

Fax: (212) 935.1835


H.E. Heather Hodges

U.S. Ambassador to Ecuador

Embajada de los Estados Unidos

Av. Avigiras E12-170 y Av. Aloy Alfaro

Quito

Ecuador


H.E. Jorge Glass

Ministro de Telecomunicaciones e Información

Palacio de Carondelet

Quito

Republic of Ecuador


H.E. Raúl Vallejo Corral

Ministro de Educación

Palacio de Carondelet

Quito

Republic of Ecuador


Sr. Arturo Aguirre

Teleamazonas

afera@hotmail.com


Sr. Jaime Mantilla A.

Director

Hoy

jaime@hoy.com.ec