News Summary

'Daily News' fights legal battle against agency to access volunteer records

Dayton Daily News © 2003

The Dayton Daily News waged a 20-month legal battle with the Peace Corps and interviewed more than 500 people in 11 countries to obtain the information for "Casualties of Peace," the seven-part series that begins today.

Since February 2002, reporters filed more than 75 requests under the federal Freedom of Information Act with the Peace Corps, the FBI, the Department of Justice, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of State. The Freedom of Information Act requires federal agencies to provide the public with access to government records.

Initially, the Peace Corps refused to acknowledge several of the newspaper's written requests and appeals. When it did send records, the agency removed the dates when attacks occurred, the names of countries, the names of some Peace Corps officials, the names of volunteers who died, and the identities of attackers, even those who had been arrested or convicted.

The Peace Corps also initially refused to answer specific questions about assaults.

While the Peace Corps denied reporters information on assaults against volunteers, authorities in other countries provided access to the same information.

Reporters traveled to Russia, Ukraine, Bolivia, El Salvador, Cape Verde, Gabon, South Africa, Lesotho, Spain and Guatemala, obtaining records or other information from police, prosecutors and government officials.

After the Daily News filed suit against the Peace Corps on Nov. 1, 2002, the agency became more cooperative, releasing much of its databases on assaults, deaths and illnesses.

After more than a year, the agency also began to respond to the newspaper's questions, but would do so in most cases only in writing.

[From the Dayton Daily News: 10.26.2003]