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. (in French) Le Nouvel Observateur, 25 May 2005, Un journaliste de Reuters attaqué et blessé (archived)
  2. (in Spanish) Semana, 11 September 2010, ¿Periodista guerrillero?
  3. 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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