"The Center for Archives and Access to Public Information (CAinfo) [in Uruguay] expresses concern about a series of lawsuits against journalists filed in recent weeks, which threaten freedom of expression and the free flow of information.
Most of the complaints filed, or publicly announced, between the months of July, August and September refer to criminal lawsuits for defamation and injurias as a result of journalistic publications. Most of them come from senior state officials or legislators.
In three months, there are seven lawsuits filed plus two threats to initiate lawsuits, while the last monitoring report recorded three cases in a whole year.
Based on international standards of freedom of expression, CAinfo understands that these actions seek to affect the rights of journalists and create an environment of harassment using the judicial system."
