In April, CIR launched our new series The Investigators, highlighting the
work of investigative reporters around the world, with an interview with
Hollman and Juan Pablo Morris, brothers and creators of the Colombian
television show Contravia. The show has been one of the few journalistic
sources of independent reporting to investigate human rights abuses by
Colombia’s right-wing para-military groups and their connections to high
political and financial figures.

We’ve just received news from Hollman Morris in Bogota of an extraordinary
development: Documents released yesterday in the Colombian Congress confirm that the country’s intelligence service, the DAS, has been conducting systematic surveillance of Morris’ mail, movements, and computer communications for several years. This is part of a larger process at play in Colombia to marginalize independent journalists, human rights activists, and attorneys who are determined to provide unbiased reports on the players, from all sides, in Colombia’s long-running civil war.

The revelations are described on Contravia’s website here.

Watch CIR’s interview with the Morris brothers:

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Mark Schapiro specializes in international and environmental stories. His award-winning work appears in all media: in publications such as Harpers, The Atlantic, Mother Jones and Yale 360; on television, including PBS FRONTLINE/World and KQED; on public radio including Marketplace; and on the web. He is currently writing a book for Wiley & Co. investigating the backstory to our carbon footprints. His previous book, "EXPOSED: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What’s at Stake for American Power," reveals the health and economic implications of the tightening of environmental standards by the European Union.