Hollman Morris denied visa to attend Nieman program

Hollman Morris, one of Colombia’s top journalists, was declined the right to enter the United States and to attend Harvard University because he was accused of terrorist activities.

The 41 years old independent news producer has his own show,“Contravia”, where he criticizes the connections between the president Alvaro Uribe and the far- right militias. Morris’s’ phone conversations were taped by DAS, the security state agency, just like the conversations of judges and politicians that favored the opposition party. After he covered together with the FARC rebels the release of four Colombian security state members that were held captive by the leftists, president Uribe named him an accomplice of terrorism. Thy is why, when Morris tried to enter America to attend the Nieman program at Harvard University the consular official at the United States Embassy in Bogota denied his visa for the reason that he was not eligible because he was engaged in terrorist activities.

The law invoked was Section 212.a.3.B of the Patriot Act, which says that no one “engaging in terrorist activities, belonging to a terrorist organization or endorsing terrorist activities” will be permitted to enter America.

Robert Giles, the curator of the Nieman Foundation, said that he will ask the State Department to reconsider the decision, since Hollman Morris has already traveled to the United States several times before for giving speeches and receiving awards. Neither the United States Embassy, nor Hollman Morris gave information to confirm the visa denial, but Morris declared that he obtained an obtained a DAS document that described a campaign of discrimination that intended to ruin his reputation.