Peruvian cop arrested for YouTube video
By IANSThursday, March 11, 2010
Lima, March 11 (IANS/EFE) A Peruvian police officer who posted a video on YouTube to complain about corruption and irregularities on the force has been arrested, a media report said.
Sgt. Rogelio Escalante, 49, was charged with conspiracy and insubordination, El Comercio newspaper said Wednesday.
The video, which was posted on the Internet last month, shows Escalante in uniform demanding a pay raise for police and denouncing the “gag rule” imposed on the force by former Interior Minister Mercedes Cabanillas, an influential figure in Peru’s ruling APRA party.
Escalante also urged fellow officers to join in a strike announced for April 5.
He voluntarily gave a statement to the police Inspector General Office after posting the video, but a judge subsequently ordered Escalante’s arrest.
Escalante is being held in a lockup at the police academy in Lima, along with Sgt. Edward Casas, who was detained last month for advocating a strike.
Following the two officers’s protests, President Alan Garcia’s government decided to pay a one-time bonus of 1,000 soles ($300) to members of the Peruvian police and armed forces.
Congress ratified the payments after a long, heated debate.
–IANS/EFE
