“The Inter American Press Association (IAPA), together with various international, regional, and national organizations defending freedom of expression and human rights, expresses its deep alarm over the climate of harassment, stigmatization and threats faced by journalists and media outlets in Honduras in the weeks leading up to the general elections on Nov. 30.
The recent attacks originating from high-ranking military authorities, combined with a trend of judicial harassment, digital surveillance and administrative pressure, create a hostile environment incompatible with international standards of press freedom. In this context, authorities have an obligation to guarantee the safety, independence and free exercise of journalism — the cornerstone of any democratic process.
In recent weeks, the high command of the Honduran armed forces has issued public statements of extreme gravity, accusing media outlets and journalists of leading supposed ‘media campaigns disguised as journalistic coverage’ against the military institution. These statements, accompanied by insinuations of an alleged ‘network in which public and private actors are mixed with organized crime structures’ in the electoral context, amount to acts of stigmatization aimed at discrediting professional journalism.”
