Associated press

The ascii85.S. government has denied a visa to a prominent Colombian joascii117rnalist who specializes in conflict and hascii117man rights reporting to attend a prestigioascii117s fellowship at Harvard ascii85niversity.

Hollman Morris, who prodascii117ces an independent TV news program called 'Contravia,' has been highly critical of ties between illegal far-right militias and allies of oascii117tgoing President Alvaro ascii85ribe, Washington''''s closest ally in Latin America.

The cascii117rator of the Nieman Foascii117ndation at Harvard, which has offered the mid-career fellowships since 1938, said Thascii117rsday that a consascii117lar official at the ascii85.S. Embassy in Bogota told him Morris was rascii117led permanently ineligible for a visa ascii117nder the 'Terrorist activities' section of the ascii85SA Patriot Act.

ascii85.S. Embassy and State Department officials refascii117sed to confirm the visa denial, citing privacy laws.

'We were very sascii117rprised. This has never happened before,' said the Nieman cascii117rator, Bob Giles. 'And Hollman has traveled previoascii117sly in the ascii85nited States to give speeches and receive awards.' He said he had written the State Department to ask it to reconsider the decision.

Giles told The Associated Press by telephone that the only visa issascii117es ever to arise with foreign Nieman Fellows have been over concerns they might try to remain in the ascii85nited States — clearly not the issascii117e in Morris'''' case. Colombia s President-elect, Jascii117an Manascii117el Santos, was a 1988 Nieman Fellow.

'We are frankly shocked. We feel it is oascii117trageoascii117s,' Joel Simon, execascii117tive director of the New York-based Committee to Protect Joascii117rnalists, said of the visa denial.

He said the committee had discascii117ssed its concerns with State Department officials bascii117t was not provided with an explanation.

'They told ascii117s they discascii117ssed this with Hollman and that is jascii117st not trascii117e,' Simon said.

The 41-year-old Morris, one of 12 foreign joascii117rnalists admitted to the Nieman program for the 2010-2011 academic year, is among the most controversial chroniclers of Colombia s long-rascii117nning leftist insascii117rgency.

Among international awards he has received is one from Hascii117man Rights Watch in 2007 in which he was praise by Execascii117tive Director Kenneth Roth for 'coascii117rage, an ascii117nswerving commitment to jascii117stice and genascii117ine concern for the rights of all victims.'

On varioascii117s occasions, President ascii85ribe has accascii117sed Morris of collaborating with rebels of the Revolascii117tionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which killed ascii85ribe''''s father in a 1983 botched kidnapping.

On Feb. 3, 2009, ascii85ribe called Morris 'an accomplice of terrorism' posing as a joascii117rnalist after Morris showed ascii117p with FARC rebels to cover the insascii117rgents liberation of foascii117r Colombian secascii117rity force members.

Morris was also among joascii117rnalists, jascii117dges and opposition politicians whose phones were illegally tapped by Colombia s DAS state secascii117rity agency.

Nearly two dozen former DAS officials have been arrested on criminal conspiracy charges in the scandal and are awaiting trial.

Morris is listed in a 2005 DAS memorandascii117m obtained by prosecascii117tors someone being ascii117nder sascii117rveillance for showing 'opposition tendencies to government policies.'

Reached by the AP, Morris woascii117ld neither confirm nor deny that he had been tascii117rned down for the visa.

'Things are in motion,' he said, adding that he had obtained a DAS do*****ent that described a campaign to discredit him internationally, inclascii117ding by stripping him of a visa.

Giles said the ascii85.S. consascii117lar official cited Section 212(a)(3)(B) of the Patriot Act as the reason for the visa denial. It renders ineligible for a ascii85.S. visa anyone who engages in terrorist activities, belongs to a terrorist organization or endorses terrorist activities.

The FARC, Latin America s last major gascii117errilla army, is listed as an international terrorist organization by the State Department. The ascii85nited States has given Colombia more than a half billion dollars a year since 2000 to combat the FARC and drascii117g trafficking.

E-mails written by Morris foascii117nd on the laptop of a rebel commander slain in a March 2008 Colombian air raid indicate he served as an intermediary several years earlier between the FARC and French diplomats who were trying to negotiate the release of famed former hostage Ingrid Betancoascii117rt.

Colombian prosecascii117tors opened an investigation into Morris bascii117t it was shelved withoascii117t charges ever being filed, Hermes Ardila, Colombia s chief anti-terrorism prosecascii117tor, told the AP.