Reuters AlertNet Lite - Colombia rearrests Telesur reporter for bombing

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Colombia rearrests Telesur reporter for bombing

06 Feb 2007 21:26:52 GMT
Source: Reuters

BOGOTA, Feb 6 (Reuters) - A correspondent for the Venezuela-backed Telesur television channel was ordered rearrested on new evidence that he helped rebels bomb utility towers in Colombia in 2002, authorities said on Tuesday.

Freddy Munoz, a 36-year-old Colombian, was arrested in November on the same charges but freed last month, although the attorney general's office said at the time it would keep investigating the possible role he played in bombings in the Atlantic coast cities of Barranquilla and Cartagena.

"We have new evidence that strengthens our hypothesis," said Assistant Attorney General Guillermo Mendoza.

Mendoza said there was evidence showing Munoz had wounds after the bombings that appeared to have been caused by manipulating explosives. He said Munoz had not been taken into custody as of Tuesday.

Munoz's jailing sparked outcry from media groups including Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, which said the arrest may have been prompted by interviews he had conducted with left-wing Colombian guerrillas.

The government of conservative Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said the arrest had nothing to do with Munoz's work as a journalist.

Telesur was started by leftist President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and other Latin American governments as an alternative to cable news networks like CNN.

Uribe, whose father was killed by rebels more than 20 years ago, has received millions of dollars in U.S. aid to crack down on the guerrillas and the cocaine trade that helps finance them.

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Last updated:Tue Feb 6 21:28:54 2007