In addition to the at least 12 journalists who were injured during the coverage of the protests in Asunción, Paraguay last weekend, media outlets have also faced attacks by some pro-government leaders who accuse them of inciting violence in the country.
The Paraguayan government offered state advertising to the owners of the more than 200 radio stations in the interior of the country in exchange for disseminating news that is favorable to the government, according to various media in the country.
In the presence of UNESCO assistant director-general for communication and information, Frank La Rue, representatives from the three branches of government in Paraguay signed on Nov. 28 a Letter of Intent to Establish a Security Mechanism for Journalists in Paraguay.
Journalist Cándido Figueredo lives with his wife, and seven guards armed with machine guns, in what he likes to call “my prison.” With a mixture of irony and regret, Figueredo describes his house, which also serves as a branch of Paraguay’s largest newspaper ABC Color. For more than 20 years, Figueredo has lived with a 24-hour security escort, the only way to continue working as journalist in the dangerous city of Pedro Juan Caballero, on Paraguay’s border with Brazil.
The Attorney General of Paraguay ordered an investigation into the case of alleged espionage by the military forces of the country against a journalist, according to the Public Ministry and newspaper ABC Color.
“On Freedom of Expression and Protection of Journalists and Press Workers” was the bill presented on April 27 in Paraguay, a day after the country celebrated the Day of the Journalist, according to newspaper La Nación. The bill was announced at a press conference given by congresswoman and head of the Commission of Human Rights, Olga Ferreira de López and legislator Pastor Vera Bejarano, the newspaper added.
The driver of a former Paraguayan mayor is the first person to be convicted in the case of the murders of journalist Pablo Medina and his assistant Antonia Almada. His former boss, Vilmar Acosta Marques, is accused of masterminding Medina's murder.
Former mayor Vilmar Acosta arrived in Asunción - Paraguay's capital - Tuesday Nov. 17 after Brazil approved his extradition. He now will have to answer for the murder of journalist Pablo Medina, according to Reuters. The journalist’s assistant, Antonia Almada, was also killed in the attack targeting the reporter.
A white plaque near Villa Ygatimí, about 26 miles from the Paraguayan border with Brazil, commemorates a journalist and an assistant killed while driving on a dirt highway there a year earlier.
Paraguayan journalist Cándido Figueredo Ruiz is one of the winners of the 2015 International Press Freedom Awards given by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the organization announced Tuesday.
The name of Paraguayan journalist Pablo Medina, who was killed while on assignment in October 2014, has been added to the Journalists Memorial at the Newseum in Washington D.C.
Authorities in Paraguay have sent Brazil a formal request for the extradition of the man accused of being the mastermind behind the murder of journalist Pablo Medina on Oct.16, 2014.