“The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ, for its acronym in Spanish) of El Salvador admitted this Friday (March 5) a claim for protection by newspaper El Faro against the Ministry of Finance for allegedly using an audit to try to obtain information about its 'editorial line, journalistic methodology, sources and ongoing investigations.'
The constitutional judges also ordered the Treasury - as a precautionary measure - to refrain from 'continuing with the requirements of the documentation and information that is in dispute by the Trípode company,' which owns El Faro. These are 'the minute books of the Board of Directors of the company, the reports or final reports that are delivered to the international cooperators and the details about the subscribers who make periodic contributions.'"
LJR Note: On Sept. 24, 2020, the country's president, Nayib Bukele, announced at the national level an alleged open investigation against El Faro for money laundering and the media outlet was being audited by the Ministry of Finance. On Jan. 4, 2021, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights granted precautionary measures in favor of 34 members of El Faro after considering that they are in a serious and urgent situation of risk of irreparable damage to their rights.
