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October 5, 2007
IFJ: Philippine journalist received
death threats
Philippines newspaper journalist Ellen Tordesillas, who works for the Malaya daily newspaper and the Abante daily tabloid, has received a death threat via email for criticising the Arroyo government in one of her articles.
It has been reported to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) that Tordesillas found the threatening email in her inbox on September 30, 2007. The message included the threat, "Beware when you go out because I will have you abducted, and to stop your foul mouth I will make you eat barbed wire and swallow it whole, then I will crucify you and will wrap barbed wire around your body…"
IFJ Asia-Pacific director Jacqueline Park said the incident is indicative of the threats journalists working in the Philippines face on a daily basis.
"This is a blatant attempt to provoke fear in the media and silence journalists, which unfortunately is only too common in the Philippines," Park said.
Tordesillas believes the email was sent as result of an article which was published in Abante on September 30, 2007 entitled 'Utak barbed wire'.
In the article Tordesillas accused the Philippine President of being hypocritical after he condemned the situation in Myanmar, while activists who criticize the Philippines government are killed by the military.
Tordesillas also received a death threat in November last year. She has reported the most recent incident to the National Bureau of Investigation.
The IFJ calls upon the authorities to investigate the incident fully and to adequately punish whoever was involved.
"Authorities need to send a clear statement that these kinds of attacks on the media will not be tolerated, and show a solid commitment to upholding journalists rights," Park said.
For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +61 2 9333 0919
The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 114 countries