texas-moody

Espionage

A ‘culture of silence’ threatens press freedom under El Salvador President Bukele, press freedom organizations find

Since El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele declared a state of emergency in March 2022, local journalists and human rights organizations have raised concerns that Bukele has repeatedly renewed the state of emergency in a bid to systemically silence dissent and dismantle press freedom. The Salvadoran Journalists Association (APES) documented 311 attacks –including harassment, doxxing, threats, […]

Salvadoran press association demands accountability for government plan to spy on journalists

“The Salvadoran Association of Journalists, or APES for its initials in Spanish, expresses its concern and demands that the government be held accountable for the revelations made in a news investigation, which finds that high-ranking state officials had agreed to establish a center to spy on journalists. The surveillance specifically targets Jorge Beltrán Luna from […]

News Monitor LOGO

Tech and press giants boost El Faro’s appeal in US Pegasus case

"Since Friday, July 19, over a dozen major U.S. technology companies and press organizations filed amicus curiae briefs in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to voice support for 18 current and former members of El Faro currently appealing the March dismissal of their lawsuit against the Israel-based company NSO Group, developer and vendor of […]

News Monitor LOGO

Colombian intelligence agency denies spying on opponents and journalists

"[Colombia's] National Intelligence Directorate (DNI, for its acronym in Spanish), under the Presidency of the Republic, categorically denied accusations about the alleged illegal interception of communications belonging to opposition politicians and journalists. In a press release, the DNI rejected these accusations and denied the existence of the alleged group called Orión, which, according to rumors, […]

News Monitor LOGO

Uruguayan press freedom organization concerned about Ministry of the Interior's alleged investigation of journalist's sources

“The Center for Archives and Access to Public Information (Cainfo) expresses its concern about the internal investigation organized by the Ministry of the Interior [of Uruguay] to investigate the sources of journalist Eduardo Preve for journalistic publications about the use of the device known as ' The Guardian' and other cases involving the police. The […]

News Monitor LOGO

Brazil: Journalist association asks for disclosure of list of journalists spied on by Bolsonaro's administration

"The Association of Professional Journalists of the State of São Paulo, together with the National Federation of Journalists and the Brazilian Press Association filed, on Fri, Feb. 23, before the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil, a request for disclosure of the names of journalists who were illegally spied on by the so-called 'Abin parallel.' The […]

News Monitor LOGO

Judge confirms spying on Mexican journalist Carmen Aristegui, but acquits the only person accused due to lack of evidence

"For Mexican journalist Carmen Aristegui, the Pegasus case is more alive and open than ever despite the ruling issued this afternoon [Jan. 12] by Judge Luis Benítez Alcántara, in which he acquitted the only person accused of spying on her with the aforementioned software. [...] 'It was fully recognized judicially and without any doubt that […]

News Monitor LOGO

Brazil’s intelligence agency monitored journalists under Bolsonaro’s administration, says police investigation

"Politicians, political opponents and journalists, among other people, were illegally monitored by a group of officials from the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin, by its Portuguese acronym), according to a Federal Police investigation revealed on Friday [Oct. 20]. The investigation, known as 'Operation Last Mile,' is carrying out arrest warrants against two Abin employees, as well […]

KC logo

Chilean Supreme Court orders the release of former judge charged in case of spying on journalist and others

"The Supreme Court [of Chile] accepted a writ of amparo filed by the former minister of the Santiago Court of Appeals, Juan Antonio Poblete, and ordered his immediate release, in the context of the so-called Operation Topographer [a judicial case arising from the investigation made by journalist Mauricio Weibel inside the Army, following denunciations by […]

KC logo

Dominican Republic: Pegasus spyware discovered on journalist’s phone is the first confirmed case in the country

“A high-profile woman journalist in the Dominican Republic has been targeted with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware, in the first confirmed case in the country, Amnesty International reveals in a new investigation published on World Press Freedom Day. Analysis by Amnesty International’s Security Lab confirmed that a mobile device belonging to Nuria Piera was targeted and […]

KC Logo

NGO to file injunction in El Salvador's Supreme Court over spying on journalists via Pegasus spyware

"The humanitarian organization Cristosal will file an amparo [injunction] lawsuit with the Supreme Court of El Salvador for failing to investigate the use of state funds for allegedly spying on journalists via Pegasus spyware, one of the organization's lawyers said on Friday (April 28). [Attorney] Jonathan Sisco said that 'we are preparing an amparo lawsuit, […]