Jineth Bedoya Lima

Jineth Bedoya Lima (Arabic: هناء الحبشي born c. 1974) is a Colombian journalist.  She wrote about the illegal gun trade.   She was kidnapped in May 2000 and August 2003. In 2001, she received the Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation. In 2012, she received the International Women of Courage Award from the U. S. Department of State.

 Work 

 2000 kidnapping 

In 2000, Bedoya was kidnapped.  She worked at the newspaper El Espectador in Bogota, Colombia.  Her job was to write about the Colombian war against terrorism.  On 25 May, she went to La Modelo prison in Bogota.  She planned to talk to a leader called "the Baker". She was afraid of a trap, so she went with an editor and photographer from El Espectador newspaper.  While she waited to go into the prison, they were separated, and Bedoya disappeared. 

Three men kidnapped Bedoya.  They said their boss was paramilitary leader Carlos Castaño. In May 2011, the police arrested a paramilitary soldier.  He said he was one of Bedoya's three attackers.

 2003 kidnapping 

In 2001, Bedoya started a job with El Tiempo newspaper in Colombia.  Her job was to write about crime, including paramilitary groups. In early August 2003, she went to the town of Puerto Alvira.  She wanted to write about how the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) controlled the town and forced the 1,100 people in the town to work in the illegal cocaine trade. The leader of the FARC guerrillas kidnapped Bedoya and her photographer. 

The FARC leader ordered the people in the town not to help the journalists, but the women of the town brought food to them.  Then the people in the town told the regional FARC commander, and the journalists were free. When Bedoya returned, she wrote a story about the town in FARC-controlled land, but she was careful and did not write about the townspeople who helped her.

 Book 
In 2010, Bedoya wrote a book called Vida y muerte del Mono Jojoy about Víctor Julio Suárez Rojas, or "Mono Jojoy", a FARC leader who was killed.  Because of the book, the Colombian organization Foundation for Press Freedom and the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression were afraid for Bedoya's safety.  Bedoya continued to work as a journalist for El Tiempo, but the Colombian government gave her three bodyguards and a bulletproof car.

 Awards 
In 2000, Bedoya received the CJFE International Press Freedom Award from the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression.Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, Biography of Award Winner Jineth Bedoya Lima . Retrieved 2013-01-11.  

In 2001, Bedoya received the Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation. The award was very important in Colombia, and Bedoya became well known.  Because of this, Bedoya left El Espectador newspaper and went to work for El Tiempo newspaper. 

In 2012, Bedoya received the International Women of Courage Award from the U. S. Department of State.

 References  

 Other websites 

 2012 International Women of Courage Awards, U.S. State Department photostream on Flickr 
Secretary's International Women of Courage Award (U.S. Department of State)

Category:Women who received the International Women of Courage Award
Category:1974 births
Category:Colombian journalists
Category:Living people