Colombian officials demanded the release of captured French journalist Romeo Langlois falling in line with the FARC’s promises to end the practice of kidnapping civilians.
Langlois turned himself over to an alleged FARC front during combat between Colombian military and the guerrilla group, killing four soldiers and wounding the reporter in the arm.
A self-identified FARC member told Colombian media Tuesday that Langlois was safe and considered a “prisoner of war.”
The FARC promised to end the kidnapping of civilians in February, which obliges them to release the French journalist, according to Colombia’s Vice President Angelino Garzon.
“Neither the state nor the international community, under any point of view, accept that the French journalist is a prisoner of war,” he said.
“I think right now we must join voices to invite all persons working with the media nationally and internationally, the international community and Colombian society to mobilize for the freedom of this French journalist,” Garzon added.
The Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) also spoke out against the kidnapping of Langlois. In a statement, the human rights organization said that journalists, even those covering armed conflict, fall under the same assurances of safety that all civilians are guaranteed under international law.
The IACHR’s Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression states that “the murder, kidnapping, intimidation, threat to social communicators, as well as the material destruction of communications violate the fundamental rights of individuals and strongly restrict freedom of expression. It is the duty of the state to prevent and investigate such occurrences, to punish the perpetrators and ensure that victims receive due compensation.”
