Alejandra Matus | |
|---|---|
 Matus signing books at Santiago International Book Fair in 2015 | |
| Born | January 11, 1966 |
| Alma mater | Pontifical Catholic University of Chile |
| Occupation(s) | journalist, writer |
| Awards | Ortega y Gasset (1996) Vasyl Stus (2000) Hellman/Hammett (2000) |
Alejandra Matus Acuña (San Antonio, January 11, 1966) is a Chilean journalist and writer recognized for her disclosure of human rights abuses that occurred during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
While working at the defunct Chilean newspaper La Época, she covered news on the judicial branch of Chile. This work inspired the investigation that she would later publish in El libro negro de la justicia chilena. The available copies of the book were confiscated one day before the planned release and Matus was accused of contempt by Servando Jordán, minister of the Supreme Court of Chile, in violation of State Security law.[1] This prompted Matus to seek political asylum in the United States. The case led to the desacato article to be removed from the law with the new Ley de Prensa (Press Law) that was signed on May 25, 2001, which allowed Matus to return to Chile.[2] Despite the new law the book continued to be banned until October 2001 when the Corte de Apelaciones (Appellate Court) removed the ban.[3]
In 2013 she published the book Doña Lucía, a biography about Lucía Hiriart.
- ^ "Art. 6B de la Ley de Seguridad Interior del Estado (LSIE)". Periodismo U. Chile. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
- ^ "Reseña del caso "El Libro Negro de la Justicia Chilena"". Periodismo U. Chile. May 20, 2005. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
- ^ "Levantan prohibición de circular al "Libro negro de la Justicia chilena"". Emol. October 19, 2001. Retrieved January 24, 2013.