The conviction that the Supreme Court of Colombia issued against the former director of the defunct Administrative Department of Security (DAS, by its Spanish acronym), María del Pilar Hurtado, and former Secretary General of the Presidency in the administration of Álvaro Uribe, Bernardo Moreno Villegas, implies a breakthrough in the investigation of cases related to violations of freedom of the press in the country, according to some organizations.
In an environment where widespread violence against journalists persists, five distinguished writers stood up for freedom of expression and were recognized for excellence in journalism, literature and their work for human rights.
Feb. 17 was a day like any other for Yohir Akerman, former columnist for El Colombiano, until he discovered – while flipping through the pages of the paper – that he had been fired. The reason: claiming that “god was wrong” to reject homosexuality in the Bible in one of his columns.
An increase in organized crime-related violence has terrorized the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas over the past week. Conflicts between rival cartel factions in the neighboring border cities of Reynosa and Matamoros have left dozens dead, escalating the present danger for journalists practicing in the region.
After fracturing her jaw with a single stroke, Susana Morazán’s aggressors made a threat: “stop talking bad about the government.” The event took place on Jan. 19, when two men riding motorcycles intercepted the TV Azteca Guatemala host while she was driving her car, according to Prensa Libre.
Accompanied by a group of people wearing shirts with the slogan "I'm Bonil," a replica of the French "Je suis Charlie," Xavier Bonilla 'Bonil', cartoonist of the newspaper El Universo in Ecuador, presented himself before the Superintendent of Information and Communication (Supercom) last Feb. 9, according to the Ecuadorian publication Plan V.
Advocates are reporting that criminal gangs and paramilitary groups in Colombia, one of the most dangerous Latin American countries for journalists, have been issuing death threats for journalists and human rights defenders for the past two months. Media and government representatives have called for investigation to find the sources behind these threats.
Nearly 1,000 Mexican judges, lawyers and other operators of justice participated in an online course on issues of freedom of expression and journalist safety offered by the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas in association with UNESCO and in close cooperation with the UNESCO Office in Mexico.
Five years after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, the country's journalists face threats, harassment, and silencing by government supporters and, on occasion, the president himself. While journalism had an urgent and imperative role in the aftermath of the earthquake, Haitian journalists have maintained a steady criticism of reconstruction efforts and, as a result, have been vilified by authorities.
In Brazil and Mexico, ranked seventh and eleventh by the Committee to Protect Journalists as the countries with the highest levels of impunity in the murder of journalists, two advocacy groups are mapping these attacks in an effort to increase their security.