William Parra

William Parra (b. 1966[1] ) is one of Colombia's best known journalists.[2] He has worked for Caracol Radio, Reuters,[2] and RCN TV,[3] and in the 1990s was press secretary for then-Colombian President Ernesto Samper.[4] He worked for TeleSUR full-time from 2006 to 2008, and subsequently as a freelance journalist.[5] Parra currently has political asylum in Venezuela, after being charged in Colombia with links with the FARC rebels.[3] Parra denies the accusations, and said in September that his lawyers had received death threats.[6][7]

Parra was kidnapped for 10 days in December 1997,[8] by men claiming to be members of the Medellin cartel.[9] Arrests were later made of members of Jaime Bateman Cayon's rebel group.[10] In 2000 he fled to Spain following death threats, and in 2005 he was attacked and seriously injured near Bogota.[1]

On 14 September 2013, he was shot in the leg by a rebel sniper in Harasta while covering the Syrian civil war for TeleSUR.[11] On 25 September, he interviewed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 (in French) Le Nouvel Observateur, 25 May 2005, Un journaliste de Reuters attaqué et blessé (archived)
  2. 1 2 (in Spanish) Semana, 11 September 2010, ¿Periodista guerrillero?
  3. 1 2 Vheadline.com, 10 September 2010, Colombian journalist ready to renounce political asylum status in Venezuela
  4. ↑ Associated Press, 10 September 2010, Colombia orders arrest of reporter in rebel case
  5. ↑ CNN, 8 September 2010, Colombian journalist wanted for rebel ties
  6. ↑ (in German) amerika21.de, 12 September 2010, William Parra: Morddrohungen gegen Anwälte
  7. ↑ (in Spanish) EFE, El Espectador, 10 September 2010, "La inteligencia militar busca asfixiarme profesionalmente" William Parra
  8. ↑ Washington Post, 14 December 1997, Rebels Release Colombian Official
  9. ↑ Manila Standard, Dec 7, 1997, Presidential press secretary, radio journalist kidnapped
  10. ↑ Florida Sun-Sentinel, Dec 25, 1997, Kidnap Suspects Arrested
  11. ↑ TeleSUR, 16 September 2013, Mercenaries injure Telesur special envoy to Syria
  12. ↑ Cubadebate, 26 September 2013, Entrevista del canal Telesur a Bashar al-Assad (in Spanish)
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