The National Archive of Brazil’s Revealed Memories project (Memórias Reveladas) – created to facilitate the release of dictatorship-era documents (1964-1985) – is now at the center of a debate between journalists and the authorities after its refusal to release documents during the election, O Globo reports. The document project justified its decision by claiming “journalists were misusing documents and seeking data about candidates involved in the electoral campaign.”
Bolivian journalists and news media say the controversial Law Against Racism and all Forms of Discrimination, which was sanctioned Oct. 8 to take effect next January, is already being applied.
In an interview with Estado de S. Paulo newspaper, the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, says he has information about Brazil that could have “shaken the electoral pretensions of some people.” Assange refused to reveal that information and said he had been unable to publish it due to the recent release of such a large quantity of documents about Iraq.
Member countries of the UN Human Rights Council criticized Honduras and sought more information about human right violations since the coup that unseated President Manuel Zelaya, and about the killings of nine journalists in 2010, Inter Press Service reports. (See this earlier story in English).
Police reporter Carlos Alberto Guajardo of Expreso newspaper died while covering a shootout between the Mexican military and criminal gangs in the border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, the Brownsville Herald reports.
Several journalist and freedom of expression organizations criticized the press protection measures used by the authorities, which they said lack the resources and scope to attack the problem at its roots, El Diario de Juárez reports.
A Buenos Aires labor court has claimed legal ownership over several of the Spanish company Prisa’s radio holdings in Argentina, in order to guarantee that Radio Continental pays more than $1 million in damages for firing journalist Rolando Hanglin, El Mundo reports. The ruling affects seven radio stations.
Congress is considering reactivating the “Communication Council” to assist and advise lawmakers on matters related to communication, Folha de Sao Paulo reports. It would not serve as an official monitor but would hold a consultative role.
Civil police are investigating the break-in and theft of computer and printing equipment at the newspaper Correio Mariliense, in the city of Marilia, in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo. The newspaper said the crime showed signs of being a political attack to disrupt the newspaper's operations, but according to O Globo, police are investigating the case as a common robbery.
The government’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) is investigating reports of death threats against Milenio Semanal magazine reporter Jorge Alejandro Medellín, Noroeste reports.
The Mexican authorities have presented a mechanism for protecting journalists to stop the attacks on reporters and the media that, in the last decade, have resulted in 65 killings, in addition to 12 disappearances in the past five years, reported CNN Mexico and La Jornada.
On Nov. 4, Honduras will have its Universal Periodic Review, an evaluation by the United Nations Human Rights Council. In the lead-up to this event, more than 32 press freedom organizations in the IFEX network have presented recommendations to combat the “deplorable human rights situation” in the country.