The National Association of Bolivian Journalists (ANPB, for its initials in Spanish) and the Association of Journalists of La Paz (APLP) have declared an “emergency” in rejection of articles of the country’s new Penal Code the entities say could be used against professionals in retaliation for their work.
During the recent oral hearing of the accused mastermind of the murder of Miroslava Breach Velducea, audio was presented allegedly linking two members of the National Action Party (PAN, for is acronym in Spanish) with the March 23, 2017 murder of the correspondent from La Jornada.
More than a dozen journalists were wounded by security forces and protesters during a demonstration in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Dec. 14. According to various Argentine media outlets, this was one of the most brutal repressions against the press and citizen protesters so far under the government of current Argentine President Mauricio Macri.
Freedom of expression advocates are looking for answers after a British journalist hoping to cover the World Trade Organization conference in Buenos Aires was deported from Argentina. At dawn on Dec. 8, Sally Burch was sent back to Quito, Ecuador where she works as executive-editor at Agencia Latinoamericana de Información. According to the Guardian, she was included on a list of 63 people banned from attending the conference from Dec. 10 to 13.
Despite the approval of a new communications law in 2014, historic media concentration in the hands of a few economic groups persists in Uruguay, according to a recent investigation. A pending Jan. 1, 2019 deadline means these media companies have just over a year to adapt to the legislation.
In Mexico, journalists live under the terror of violence and although the government has created mechanisms to protect these professionals, impunity and insecurity continue in the country. These are some of the conclusions of David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and Edison Lanza, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), after a one-week mission to Mexico.
The Mexican Attorney General's Office (PGR for its acronym in Spanish) announced on Dec. 2 that a man identified as Fabricio "N" in Mexicali, capital of the state of Baja California, was arrested and accused of being responsible for the abduction of a journalist and theft of his materials in February of this year.
Venezuelan journalist Jesús Medina announced on Nov. 23 that he left his country due to threats against him and his family because of his work. In early November, Medina went missing for two days in what he says was an abduction due to his reporting on how Tocorón prison in northern Venezuela is allegedly controlled by prisoners.
A decision by the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil (STF for its acronym in Portuguese) maintained the censorship of the blog of carioca journalist Marcelo Auler. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes denied the continuation of a complaint filed by the journalist, who requested an injunction to suspend a sentence that prevents the publication of two of his reports.
Through his Twitter account, Medina said he was tortured and threatened with death. He thanked the press, his colleagues and all those who pressured for him to be found. "I was born again to continue reporting the truth and to fight more for my country, Venezuela," Medina wrote, adding that he was currently being sheltered.
Brazil is in "red alert" due to the high concentration of audience, of property and geographical location, lack of transparency and economic, political and religious interference in the country's media. This is the main conclusion of the survey on media ownership in Brazil carried out by the Intervozes communication collective in partnership with the international organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF for its acronym in Spanish).
Almost four years after the UN General Assembly declared Nov. 2 as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists (IDEI), the date has become a time for media professionals and freedom of expression groups in Latin America and the rest of the world to call attention to levels of violence and impunity affecting their colleagues.