A Venezuelan journalist whose family has reported him as missing on two different occasions, has resurfaced in a detention center in Guárico state. Braulio Jatar Alonso was first reported missing by his family on Sept. 3.
The Sept. 3 detention of lawyer and journalist Braulio Jatar Alonso on Margarita Island in the state of Nueva Esparta in Venezuela has caused indignation and rejection. Family members, as well as local and international human rights organizations have labeled the case a “total abuse” and an attack of press freedom in the country.
A day of demonstrations in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas ended with complaints of restrictions on freedoms of the press and of expression, including attacks and temporary detentions of some media workers, as well as international journalists being banned from entering the country.
Two Venezuelan news outlets suffered attacks from armed men in the past three days.
Arguing that journalists were making recordings in a “presidential corridor,” members of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB for its acronym in Spanish) in Venezuela detained journalists Andreina Flores and Jorge Luis Pérez Valery, according to the Press and Society Institute of Venezuela (IPYS).
Special Rapporteurs at the UN and Inter-American Commission communicated their concerns about the deterioration of media freedom to the Venezuelan government in attempts to open a dialogue with authorities and improve the situation for journalists in the country.
In the midst of a tense social climate and reports of attacks on the press, social media users in Venezuela are spreading the hashtag #ExpresiónSinOpresión (#ExpressionWithoutOppression) to talk about the importance of freedom of expression in the country.
Venezuelan journalist Leocenis García, founder and editor of the now-defunct editorial group 6to Poder, has been in prison for a week after his house arrest was revoked on July 4 and he was transferred to the jail of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN for its acronym in Spanish).
Given the various policies of the current Venezuelan government that restrict the free circulation of information in traditional media, social networks have become an alternative for news consumption among Venezuelans. This is according to a study commissioned by the human rights advocacy organization Espacio Público.
In one of the most violent events for the press this year in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, at least 19 media workers were attacked while covering protests taking place on June 2, according to the human rights advocacy organization Espacio Público.
In 2015, Venezuela saw the highest number of violations to freedom of expression and right to information since 2002, according to a recent annual report from the Press and Society Institute (IPYS for its initials in Spanish) Venezuela.
In Venezuela, a country where restrictions on the press are rampant and access to public information is not guaranteed by law, being informed about government decisions can be problematic. That is why the Press and Society Institute (IPYS for its acronym in Spanish) Venezuela, with Transparencia Venezuela, is launching Vendata, an online platform used to easily display information contained in the “Gaceta Oficial,” the official government bulletin.