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In reversal, US grants visa to Colombian journalist for Harvard fellowship

E-mail|Link|Comments () July 27, 2010 05:36 PM

By L. Finch, Globe Correspondent

A prominent Colombian journalist, previously denied a US visa because of security concerns, was granted permission this morning to come to Harvard University for a prestigious Nieman Fellowship, the Nieman curator said.

Nieman Foundation

Morris

The State Department granted Hollman Morris, 41, a visa amid mounting pressure from various organizations in support of the journalist, said Bob Giles, curator for the Nieman Foundation. Morris, known for his coverage of human rights issues in Colombia, produces a program called "Contravia" that has criticized ties between illegal right-wing militias and officials associated with outgoing Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, a close US ally.

(See Kevin Cullen's column on the controversy.)

"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."

In the Colombian capital, Bogota, a relieved Morris and his family picked up their visas at the US Embassy today. "Happy, happy! This was terrible," he told The Associated Press.

State Department officials had denied Morris a visa last month under the "terrorist activities" section of the USA 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 confirmed that Morris had been granted a visa but declined to give further details of the case, including why the decision had been reversed.

Last year, Uribe and other government officials publicly accused Morris of supporting the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, after his program covered the release of four of the group’s hostages, according to news reports. FARC, the left-wing guerrilla organization, is labeled as a terrorist group by the US government.

The Nieman Foundation fellowship is a yearlong program for mid-career journalists.

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See previous Harvard coverage of the dispute.