"Ecuador is in the midst of a press freedom crisis," International Press Institute (IPI) Deputy Director Anthony Mills said on Tuesday, Oct. 23, on the group's website. Mills' words were part of a press release announcing the final report of IPI's press freedom mission to the Andean country from May 7 to 11.
Two Bolivian journalists were forced to flee to Brazil after suffering legal harassment by public officials on Oct. 13, reported the newspaper Opinión. The reporters from Cobija, capital of the northern department of Pando, claimed that officials with the department Prosecutor's office attempted to arrest them, according to the newspaper.
"Ecuador is in the midst of a press freedom crisis," International Press Institute (IPI) Deputy Director Anthony Mills said on Tuesday, Oct. 23, on the group's website. Mills' words were part of a press release announcing the final report of IPI's press freedom mission to the Andean country from May 7 to 11.
Fundamedios, a press organization, accused the Ecuadorian government of waging a smear campaign against it and private media in the Andean country, according to a statement on its website.
The Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA in Spanish) denounced the "serious harassment" facing the media in a local community, the organization reported in a statement on its website on Tuesday, Oct. 16. According to FOPEA, this is the third time dispatchers for the newspaper El Debate have been attacked in Zárate, Buenos Aires, while delivering the publication.
The newspaper El Espectador de Colombia claimed the Attorney General of Colombia threatened to censor it, the publication said in an editorial published Wednesday, Oct. 16, reported the Associated Press (AP).
Several Caribbean nations have pledged to reform their criminal defamation laws but must continue to work to fully repeal them, according to a new report published by the International Press Institute (IPI).
The Honduran digital newspaper Hondudiario announced that it was the target of a cyber attack that left its website out of service for 48 hours on Friday, Oct. 12, according to the Committee for Free Expression in Honduras (C-Libre in Spanish). Since 2009, the online publication has reported other threats and attacks, the worst of which was the killing of one of its reporters in August 2012. The crime remains unsolved.
The Argentine Audiovisual Communication Services Law, also known as the Media Law, set to take effect Dec. 7, has caught the attention of press freedom organizations across the world.
The 68th Inter American Press Association (IAPA) General Assembly will conclude Tuesday, Oct. 16, with debates focused on the future of freedom of expression and journalism in the Americas. Since Friday, Oct. 12, reporters, media owners and critics have been meeting in São Paulo, Brazil to discuss crimes against the press, the sustainability of journalism, digital journalism and copyright rules.
The Press and Society Institute (IPYS in Spanish) of Venezuela recorded 19 incidents that affected press freedom in the country during the presidential elections that took place on Sunday, Oct. 7, the group said in a report released on Oct. 11. According to IPYS Venezuela, the events happened between the week before the elections and the days after the results were announced.
The Global Editors Network (GEN) released a statement on its website calling attention to the Argentine government's attacks against the press in what it described as a "press freedom crisis." GEN warned that the government's intentions to break up Grupo Clarín and seize its assets on Dec. 7 is a threat to press freedom in Latin America.