When the Patriot Act Bothers the AmeriKan Press
They get results!
"Colombian granted visa for Nieman Fellowship" by L. Finch, Globe Correspondent | July 28, 2010
A prominent Colombian journalist, previously denied a US visa over security concerns, was granted permission yesterday to come to Harvard University for a prestigious Nieman Fellowship.
The State Department granted Hollman Morris, 41, the visa yesterday morning amid mounting pressure from various organizations and journalists from the United States and abroad, said Bob Giles, curator for the Nieman Foundation, which administers the yearlong fellowship for midcareer journalists.
Morris, known for his coverage of human rights issues in Colombia, produces a program called “Contravía’’ that has criticized alleged ties between illegal right-wing militias and officials associated with outgoing President Álvaro Uribe, a close US ally.
“We believed all along that if the State Department reviewed the story, the full facts of the matter, they’d do the right thing,’’ Giles told the Globe.
“We’re so pleased that it’s turned out this way.’’
A relieved Morris, with his wife and two children, picked up his visa at the US Embassy in the Colombian capital, Bogotá....
The State Department had denied Morris a visa last month under the “terrorist activities’’ section of the Patriot Act. It was the first time a Nieman fellow had not been granted permission to enter the United States, Giles said.
A State Department official confirmed that the agency had granted visas to Morris and his family, but declined to give a reason for the reversal, citing the confidentiality of visa records....
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