Ousted by INS, Journalist Files $5-Million Claim

A Colombian journalist who was jailed and deported as a subversive filed a $5-million claim Friday against immigration officials, saying she was “injured in the deprivation of her liberty.”

The claim on behalf of Patricia Lara, 35, a reporter for El Tiempo, said last week’s five-day “detention, transfer and segregation . . . was without any legitimate reason and constitutes unlawful imprisonment.”

It was filed by her lawyer against Charles Sava, district director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Manhattan.

“We acted within the law as written,” INS spokesman Charles Troy said.

An administrative claim is the first step toward a federal lawsuit. The INS must be given a chance to settle out of court.

“Ms. Lara was injured in the deprivation of her liberty . . . and therefore claims money damages in the amount of $5 million,” attorney Arthur Helton, of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, wrote in the notice of claim.

Lara had been invited to the United States to attend an awards ceremony at Columbia University, her alma mater, honoring journalists and publications “for distinguished contributions to the advancement of inter-American understanding and freedom of information.”

But Lara, who had visited the country as recently as last April, found that her visa had been revoked when she landed at Kennedy Airport on Oct. 13. She was jailed and later deported.