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Articles - South America

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Colombia

Bomb attack targets former minister

A radio talk show host who used to be a government minister was injured in a bombing in Bogotá shortly after he criticised a constitutional amendment that would open the doors to peace talks with rebel groups, report the Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP) and other IFEX members. There has been no bombing in the capital since 2003.

Peru

Lawyer killed while investigating murder of journalist

A district attorney investigating the killing of Peruvian journalist Pedro Flores Silva in 2011 was shot to death last week, reports the Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS).

Venezuela

Court bans media from reporting on water pollution claims

A Venezuelan court has ruled that the press cannot report on water contamination issues without using government-approved information, report the Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS-Venezuela), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Ecuador

Correa's pardon won't change alarming free expression situation, say IFEX members

Amid mounting international condemnation, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said he would pardon a former editor and three owners of "El Universo", who were fined US$40 million and sentenced to three years in prison in a libel case, report the Andean Foundation for Media Observation & Study (Fundamedios). While IFEX members welcomed the gesture, some remained concerned for Ecuador's alarming free expression situation.

Ecuador

American human rights commission orders suspension of sentence against "El Universo"

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has asked Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa to suspend the sentence in a criminal libel case against newspaper "El Universo" until a hearing between the two parties can be held next month, report the Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International and news reports.

Ecuador

Correa's defamation win exposes country's "disturbing" free expression situation

Two Ecuadoran journalists have been ordered to pay President Rafael Correa US$2 million in moral damages - the latest in a string of incidents that point to a "disturbing" and "deteriorating" free expression situation in Ecuador under President Rafael Correa, says IFEX-ALC, an alliance of 16 IFEX members in Latin America and the Caribbean. The ruling does not look good for the daily "El Universo", whose appeal in a multimillion dollar defamation case is being heard today.

Brazil

Two journalists killed in a week

A Brazilian journalist who reported on corruption was shot to death on Sunday night near the Paraguayan border in what police say was a possible contract killing, reports IFEX's member in Brazil the Associação Brasileira de Jornalismo Investigativo (ABRAJI) as well as other IFEX members. It was the second murder of a Brazilian journalist in less than week, says ABRAJI.

Ecuador

Propaganda campaign against independent media and rights organisation intensifies

As government officials were interrupting various news programmes attempting to discredit FUNDAMEDIOS, the IFEX member in Ecuador, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) was wrapping up a press freedom mission that concluded independent media workers in the country face a general "climate of hostility." Even more alarming are death threats sent to staff of the Andean Foundation for Media Observation & Study (FUNDAMEDIOS) at the same time.

Brazil

Journalist killed in crossfire while covering a police operation

A journalist was killed in the crossfire between police and a drug gang while accompanying an early morning police operation, report the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (ABRAJI), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Brazil

New FOI law lauded by IFEX groups as boon to transparency and democracy

It took eight years since its initial proposal but Brazil's Senate has passed a comprehensive Freedom of Information (FOI) Law that goes a long way to promoting government transparency and the democratic participation of citizens and the media, report the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (ABRAJI), ARTICLE 19 and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Argentina

"Dirty War" generals sentenced, multiple radio stations attacked

Over the past two months, numerous radio stations have been violently attacked in separate incidents and through various means - from arson, to armed hold-ups, to vandalism - pointing to systematic efforts to censor the airwaves across Argentina, report the Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA), Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Meanwhile, FOPEA expresses "profound satisfaction" after the killers of a journalist in 1977 were finally brought to justice.

Venezuela

Government rejects UPR recommendations on free expression

On 11 October, the Venezuelan government rejected all requests to improve aspects of freedom of expression recommended by IFEX members and included in the final report of the United Nations Human Rights Council during the 12th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva.

Venezuela

Follow @IFEXALC at the UN's Universal Periodic Review of Venezuela

IFEX's contingent of 17 Latin American and Caribbean (ALC) freedom of expression organisations is calling on supporters to tune in to their coverage of the United Nation Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Venezuela by reading IFEX-ALC's live blog and following @IFEXALC on Twitter and encouraging others to do the same.

Ecuador

Correa's hypocrisy on display amid assault on media

Shortly after a provincial court in Guayas, Ecuador, upheld a bankrupting US$40 million fine and three-year jail sentences for three "El Universo" newspaper directors and one writer, President Rafael Correa insulted his critics during a public speech at Columbia University in New York, report the Andean Foundation for Media Observation & Study (FUNDAMEDIOS), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Brazil / Honduras / Peru

With three new deaths, Latin America is most dangerous region for journalists, say IFEX members

Three journalists have been killed in the space of a week in Brazil, Honduras and Peru, cementing Latin America's status as the most dangerous region for journalists in 2011 so far, report IFEX members.

Chile

Citizen protests draw attention to media concentration problems, says new RSF report

A surge in citizen unrest in Chile, from students demonstrating against an unfair and expensive school system to miners demanding better working conditions, may help break up the country's media oligopoly inherited from the Pinochet regime, says a new report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Ecuador

President Correa's critics sent to prison for criminal defamation, fined millions

In a 20 July ruling, an Ecuadorean judge sentenced a journalist and three newspaper executives to prison for three years with a $40 million fine for publishing a column that questioned the appropriateness of an army raid to rescue President Rafael Correa from a demonstration of striking policemen. The criminal conviction of Correa's critics is a major blow to press freedom, violating Ecuador's international human rights obligations, say the Andean Foundation for Media Observation & Study (Fundamedios), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and other IFEX members.

Colombia

Journalist killed in violence-ridden area

Independent journalist Luis Eduardo Gómez, who was also a witness for an investigation into links between politicians and paramilitaries, was gunned down last week in Arboletes, Antioquia, in northwest Colombia, report the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and other IFEX members. He is the first journalist to be killed in Colombia this year, notes the International Press Institute (IPI).

Guatemala / Venezuela

Two journalists killed in one week

Last week, a Guatemalan television journalist who had been repeatedly threatened for his reporting was found dead and a Venezuelan political journalist was gunned down, report the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Peru / Brazil

Journalists killed on World Press Freedom Day

Two journalists were gunned down in the Americas on World Press Freedom Day (3 May), a stark reminder of the dangers journalists face to keep us informed, say the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), the International Press Institute (IPI) and other IFEX members.

Bolivia / El Salvador

Journalist found dead in Bolivia; cameraman gunned down in El Salvador

Two journalists were killed in two relatively safe countries in Latin America this past week. A journalist who went missing on 19 April in Bolivia was found dead two days later, report IFEX interim member Asociación Nacional de la Prensa (ANP) and other IFEX members, while a cameraman in El Salvador was gunned down near the capital on Monday, report the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Brazil

Threatened journalist killed

A journalist who had been threatened for his critical coverage of criminal groups and local authorities was shot dead in the northeastern city of Vitória de Santo Antão, Pernambuco, report the Associação Brasileira de Jornalismo Investigativo (ABRAJI) and other IFEX members.

Ecuador

IFEX members urge President to withdraw US$80 million lawsuit against paper

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa is asking for US$80 million in damages from the newspaper "El Universo" and three years in prison for its executives for printing a "slanderous" article, report IFEX interim member Andean Foundation for Media Observation & Study (FUNDAMEDIOS) and IFEX members. The members are urging Correa to withdraw the lawsuit.

Brazil

Attack on blogger symptom of high level of violence against media

A blogger known for his scathing reporting on government officials and police corruption survived a shooting last week, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). It is just one of many acts of criminal violence targeting Brazilian media, say RSF and the Associação Brasileira de Jornalismo Investigativo (ABRAJI).

Colombia

Threatening pamphlets target media

"Keep supporting the leftist dogs and you will be dead; get out of the city." So reads a pamphlet anonymously left at a radio station in Barrancabermeja, Colombia, in what the Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP) terms is a new method of intimidating the press.

Venezuela

Legal reforms violate free expression

In the final weeks of the outgoing Venezuelan parliament, controlled by President Hugo Chávez, a series of repressive media bills that limit free expression and threaten human rights are being pushed through for approval, report the Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS-Venezuela), the Inter American Press Institute (IAPA), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and ARTICLE 19.

Peru

IAPA welcomes legal reform to combat crimes against journalists

Peru's judiciary has finally created a special jurisdiction to deal with serious crimes committed against journalists, after years of campaigning by the Inter American Press Assocation (IAPA) and the Peruvian Press Council.

Brazil

Popular crime reporter gunned down

A crime reporter who claimed that political candidates were trading drugs for votes in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte was killed by a motorcycle gunman on 18 October , report the Associação Brasileira de Jornalismo Investigativo (ABRAJI), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Colombia

Indigenous leader and journalist killed

A respected indigenous leader and journalist was shot to death on 14 October in the department of Cauca, Colombia, report the Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP) and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Two men opened fire on Rodolfo Maya Aricape, the secretary of the López Adentro Indigenous Council and a correspondent for Radio Pa´yumat, while he was home with his wife and two daughters.

Bolivia

Journalists protest against controversial anti-racism law

Bolivia's just-passed law against racism and discrimination has spawned a new outbreak of journalist protests, from public demos to hunger strikes. Bolivia's National Press Association (ANP), an IFEX interim member, argues that the law threatens press freedom and imposes censorship because it gives the government the power to shut down media outlets or throw journalists in jail simply for writing about racism.

Ecuador

Police mutiny leads to censorship, injured journalists

As hundreds of soldiers and police in Ecuador took over police barracks and set up road blocks across the country on 30 September to protest benefit cuts, the authorities ordered local radio and television stations to carry state news broadcasts, report the Andean Foundation for Media Observation & Study (FUNDAMEDIOS), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). At least 20 journalists were injured in the fray.

Ecuador

Journalist and husband were tortured, say autopsies

Autopsies conducted on the bodies of an Ecuadorian journalist and her husband show the couple was tortured before they were killed, reports FUNDAMEDIOS.

Argentina

President Kirchner lunges for control of two leading newspapers; journalist slain

Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has accused two leading newspapers of colluding with the military regime more than 30 years ago, and is now attempting to control the production and sale of newsprint, report the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). There is a long history of press freedom feuds in Argentina. But the murder of journalists is rare. A Bolivian journalist who lived and worked in a shanty town in Buenos Aires was stabbed to death on 4 September, report the Foro de Periodismo Argentino (FOPEA) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Colombia

FLIP releases innovative multimedia report on self-censorship

The Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) has launched a dynamic multimedia report breaking down the causes and consequences of self-censorship in Colombia. Restrictions on access to information, government-controlled advertising and sponsorship, and armed conflict have contributed to self-censorship, says the report (in Spanish only.) "Autocensura y prácticas periodísticas regionales" is a distillation of workshops with 140 journalists and 63 other sources, including police, governors and regional ombudsmen, throughout the country, offering video interviews, cartoons, profiles of journalists, and guides for protecting journalists, among other resources.

Colombia / United States

Journalist Hollman Morris permanently barred from entering the US

Prominent Colombian journalist Hollman Morris has been denied a visa to the US based on a "terrorist activities" provision of the Patriot Act, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the PEN American Center, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE). IFEX members are urging the US to lift the travel ban.

Colombia

FLIP report examines press freedom during elections

The Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) has released a new report detailing the press freedom situation in Colombia during the presidential electoral process in March and June. Relying on a network of journalists to provide first-hand information, FLIP was able to monitor the transparency of elections.

Venezuela

Journalists imprisoned in their own homes and assaulted

Venezuelan journalists are facing an array of attacks - Molotov cocktails, President Hugo Chávez's verbal assaults on outspoken media, house arrest and physical assault - simply for doing their jobs.

Colombia

Journalists under surveillance by intelligence forces

A witch-hunt of journalists and activists critical of the government during outgoing Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's two terms in power has been detailed in a report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). "Chuzadas: Colombian media targeted by intelligence services" was released three days before presidential elections on 30 May after an RSF delegation visited Colombia from 16 to 20 May. At the same time, a delegation of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters - Latin America and the Caribbean (AMARC-ALC) travelled to Colombia to determine the state of free expression and community radio.

Venezuela

Leading suspect in murder of journalist given 25 years

A former police officer who was the leading suspect in the 2009 murder of Venezuelan journalist Orel Sambrano was sentenced to 25 years in prison last week, report the Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF). According to the IFEX members, on 18 May Rafael Segundo Pérez, a former Carabobo police sergeant, was given 25 years on conspiracy charges and is the first person to be convicted for Sambrano's murder.

Peru

Journalists targeted for doing their job

Peruvian journalists are being censored, stabbed, beaten unconscious, and threatened with prison terms, for covering corruption, for criticising local politicians, and for shedding light on protests and social injustice, report the Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS) and the Observatorio Latinoamericano para la Libertad de Expresión (OLA).

Ecuador

Journalist punished with three-year prison term for defamation; others censored

Government efforts to control the media environment in Ecuador are playing out in brutal ways. An Ecuadorian journalist was sentenced to three years in prison and fined US$10,000 on 26 March for targeting a government official in an opinion editorial, report the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and other IFEX members. Meanwhile, ARTICLE 19 and Fundamedios have reported on freedom of expression restrictions in a draft bill on media regulation under consideration by Congress. Also, the editor of a state-run newspaper was fired for challenging the state's editorial meddling, reports the Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS).

Colombia

Editor slain after receiving threats

After receiving threats for years for reporting on links between local politicians, landowners and right-wing paramilitary groups, a 50-year-old Colombian journalist was shot to death on 19 March, report the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Venezuela

Media worker kidnapped; protest criminalised

Venezuelan police fired tear gas at demonstrators and detained journalists covering protests in Aragua State, and a news editor was kidnapped in another part of the country, reports Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS). And according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), President Hugo Chávez continues to call for greater Internet regulation.

Colombia

FLIP report highlights illegal espionage as a major threat to press freedom

Illegal espionage is one of the most serious threats to press freedom in Colombia, says the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) in their 2009 report: "Interceptaciones y seguimientos ilegales: grave intimidación al periodismo colombiano" (Illegal wiretapping and monitoring: The severe intimidation of Colombian journalism).

Brazil

Radio studio destroyed in arson attack

A Brazilian radio station critical of local authorities had its studio burned down by two armed men on 8 February, report the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (ABRAJI) and ARTICLE 19.

Venezuela

TV stations shut down for refusing to air President's speeches

The Venezuelan government ordered cable networks to stop carrying six TV stations on 24 January after the stations failed to air speeches by President Hugo Chávez, report IFEX members. Protests have erupted over the recent press freedom violations.

Bolivia

Journalists attacked; media freedom deteriorates

Press freedom has deteriorated in Bolivia since President Evo Morales came to power in 2005; his insults against the media are often followed up with supporters assaulting journalists, alleges the International Press Institute (IPI). Morales's re-election on 6 December means opposition critics and journalists will continue to be under threat, reports IPI.

Argentina

Controversial new broadcast law

A new broadcast law passed on 10 October in Argentina has given the government wide discretionary powers to control the press, reports the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and the Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA). But the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) applauds the new legislation as a guarantee of diversity and pluralism.

Colombia

Reporter shot dead riding his motorcycle

A Colombian journalist was shot four times and killed on 22 September while riding his motorcycle to cover a story, report the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) and other IFEX members.

Colombia

Ten years on, IAPA asks authorities for justice in Garzón murder

Ten years since the murder of popular Colombian journalist Jaime Garzón, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) is calling on the authorities to put "greater effort" into solving the case.

Venezuela

Chávez's war on media continues, say IFEX members

The Venezuelan authorities have revoked the broadcast licences of 34 private radio and TV stations and proposed new media laws that would expand pro-government media and suppress dissent, say Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS), the Inter American Press Association (IPYS), Observatorio Latinoamericano para la Libertad de Expresión (OLA) and other IFEX members.

Colombia

Outspoken journalist gunned down

A journalist who is also a local community leader was killed in southern Colombia last month, report the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) and the Inter American Press Association (IAPA).

Venezuela

Chávez ratchets up threats against media

President Hugo Chávez has stepped up his ongoing bullying campaign against critical media in the country. This time, he's demanded officials either take action against the media that "poison" Venezuela or resign.

Colombia

FLIP founder leaves paper over political differences

One of the founding members of the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) has announced that he has been made to leave his paper because of a difference of political views, FLIP reports.

Brazil

Supreme Court strikes down archaic press law

Brazil's Supreme Court has made a "historic decision" to repeal the 1967 press law, which allowed for jail sentences for press offences, report the Associação Brasileira de Jornalismo Investigativo (ABRAJI), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), ARTICLE 19 and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Colombia

AUTORIDADES DESCUBREN COMPLOT PARA ASESINAR AL PRESIDENTE DE LA SIP

Colombia

LES AUTORITÉS METTENT AU JOUR UN COMPLOT VISANT À ASSASSINER LE PRÉSIDENT DE LA SIP

Colombia

AUTHORITIES UNCOVER PLOT TO KILL IAPA PRESIDENT

Colombian authorities were able to foil an attempt by a left-wing guerrilla group to kill a journalist who is the president of IFEX member the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and a founder of the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP), IFEX's member in Colombia.

Colombia

Colombia: Authorities uncover plot to kill IAPA president

Colombia

ESPIONAJE TELEFÓNICO ILEGAL PONE EN RIESGO TRABAJO DE LOS PERIODISTAS Y FUENTES

Colombia

L'ÉCOUTE ÉLECTRONIQUE ILLÉGALE MENACE LE TRAVAIL ET LES SOURCES DES JOURNALISTES

Colombia

ILLEGAL WIRETAPPING JEOPARDISES JOURNALISTS' WORK AND SOURCES

The illegal wiretapping of prominent Colombian journalists endangers their work and compromises their confidential sources, say IFEX members the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Paraguay

LE DIRECTEUR D'UNE STATION DE RADIO COMMUNAUTAIRE EST ABATTU

Paraguay

DIRECTOR DE RADIO COMUNITARIA BALEADO

Paraguay

COMMUNITY RADIO DIRECTOR GUNNED DOWN

The director of a community radio station in eastern Paraguay was killed in his home last month, report the Paraguayan Union of Journalists (SPP) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Colombia

AUCUN JOURNALISTE N’A ÉTÉ ASSASSINÉ À CAUSE DE SON TRAVAIL EN 2008, DIT LA FLIP

Colombia

NO HUBO PERIODISTAS MUERTOS POR SU TRABAJO EN 2008, DICE FLIP

Colombia

NO JOURNALISTS MURDERED FOR WORK IN 2008, SAYS FLIP

In 2008, there were no job-related murders of journalists in Colombia, and press freedom violations decreased by 20 per cent, says a new report by the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP). But impunity for crimes against journalists and threats levelled against the media remain cause for concern, said FLIP.

Colombia

LES MEMBRES DE L’IFEX CÉLÈBRENT UNE VICTOIRE HISTORIQUE CONTRE L’IMPUNITÉ

Colombia

MIEMBROS DE IFEX CELEBRAN VICTORIA HISTÓRICA CONTRA LA IMPUNIDAD

Colombia

IFEX MEMBERS CELEBRATE HISTORIC VICTORY AGAINST IMPUNITY

In what the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) are calling a major victory against impunity in Colombia, a former mayor has been sentenced to 28 years in jail for ordering the 2003 killing of a journalist who had denounced the mayor as corrupt. It is the first time the mastermind of a journalist's killing in Colombia has been convicted and jailed since 1992, says CPJ.

Venezuela

UN JOURNALISTE EST ASSASSINÉ; UN AUTRE SURVIT AUX PROJECTILES

Venezuela

PERIODISTA ASESINADO; OTRO SOBREVIVE AL TIROTEO

Venezuela

JOURNALIST MURDERED; ANOTHER SURVIVES SHOOTING

A journalist who recently covered drug trafficking in Venezuela was assassinated last week, report the Institute for Press and Society (IPYS), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and other IFEX members. He was slain just three days after the attempted murder of another journalist in southwestern Venezuela.

Peru

PERIODISTAS RADIOFÓNICOS CONSTITUYEN EL GRUPO DE MEDIOS MÁS ATACADO EN PERÚ, DICE EL IPYS

Peru

LES JOURNALISTES DE LA RADIO SONT LE GROUPE DE MÉDIAS LE PLUS CIBLÉ AU PÉROU, DIT L'IPYS

Peru

RADIO JOURNALISTS MOST TARGETED MEDIA GROUP IN PERU, SAYS IPYS

When it comes to attacks on the media, radio journalists were the most frequent targets of aggression in 2008 in Peru, says the Institute of Press and Society (IPYS) in a new report.

Uruguay

L'URUGUAY ADOPTE UNE LOI SUR L'ACCÈS À L'INFORMATION

Uruguay

URUGUAY APRUEBA LEY DE ACCESO A LA INFORMACIÓN

Uruguay

URUGUAY PASSES ACCESS TO INFO LAW

Last month, Uruguay became the latest country in the Americas to pass an access to public information law, reports the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC).

Colombia

AUTORIDADES SUPRIMEN COBERTURA DE PROTESTAS INDÍGENAS

Colombia

LES AUTORITÉS SUPPRIMENT LA COUVERTURE DES PROTESTATIONS DES AUTOCHTONES

Colombia

AUTHORITIES SUPPRESS COVERAGE OF INDIGENOUS PROTESTS

At least one person was killed and more than 130 were wounded during indigenous demonstrations last week in several departments in Colombia. But with multiple press freedom violations being committed, you would be hard-pressed to find out what's going on.

Venezuela

EXPULSAN A DELEGACIÓN DE HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Venezuela

EXPULSION D'UNE DÉLÉGATION DE HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Venezuela

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH DELEGATION EXPELLED

Two senior Human Rights Watch staff were expelled from Venezuela last week, just hours after presenting a report describing the deteriorating human rights situation under the government of President Hugo Chávez.

Bolivia

MANIFESTANTES DE LA OPOSICIÓN MALTRATAN A LA PRENSA

Bolivia

LES PROTESTATAIRES DE L'OPPOSITION S'EN PRENNENT À LA PRESSE

Bolivia

OPPOSITION PROTESTERS BATTER PRESS

A wave of violent clashes between opponents and supporters of the government in Bolivia has badly hit the press, particularly public and community media, report the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC), the Institute for Press and Society (IPYS), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and other press freedom groups.

Colombia

UN NOUVEAU DOSSIER FOUILLE EN PROFONDEUR LES RÉCENTES VIOLATIONS DE LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE

Venezuela

MOIS DE LA LIBERTÉ DE L'INFORMATION AU VENEZUELA (18 SEPTEMBRE AU 18 OCTOBRE)

Colombia

NUEVOS INFORMES AHONDAN EN RECIENTES INFRACCIONES A LA LIBERTAD DE PRENSA

Venezuela

MES DE LA LIBERTAD DE INFORMACIÓN EN VENEZUELA (18 DE SEPTIEMBRE A 18 DE OCTUBRE)

Colombia

NEW REPORTS DIG DEEP INTO RECENT PRESS FREEDOM VIOLATIONS

In recent weeks, the Colombian authorities have been using legal proceedings to shut up journalists and news media - or their sources - who have been speaking out against them, says a new report by the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP). It's just one of a handful of reports that spotlight recent press freedom violations in Colombia.

Venezuela

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION MONTH IN VENEZUELA (18 SEPTEMBER-18 OCTOBER)

Even though the Inter-American Court of Human Rights declared freedom of information a fundamental human right last year, Venezuela still doesn't have a Freedom of Information Act. So for a month starting 18 September, the civil-society coalition Proacceso will celebrate Freedom of Information Month in Venezuela, under the motto "Don't let them take you for a ride. Make your right to information count" ("No dejes que te echen otro cuento. Haz valer tu derecho a la información").

Chile

EL DERECHO A SABER INFORMACIÓN PÚBLICA AVANZA

Uruguay

COMMUNITY BROADCASTING ATTACKED IN THREE COUNTRIES, PROMOTED IN URUGUAY

In Mexico, Guatemala and Chile, community radio stations have recently come under pressure. Meanwhile, Uruguay is bringing its Community Broadcast Law to life by allocating bandwidth to community television.

Brazil

PERIODISTAS RECIBEN AMENAZA DE MUERTE AL INFORMAR EN FAVELA

Brazil

DES JOURNALISTES REÇOIVENT DES MENACES DE MORT LORSQU'ILS COUVRENT UN BIDONVILLE

Colombia

LES VIOLATIONS DE LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE EN DÉCLIN EN COLOMBIE, DIT LA FLIP

Brazil

JOURNALISTS GET DEATH THREATS WHEN REPORTING IN SHANTYTOWN

Journalists covering some of Brazil's poorest neighbourhoods are finding themselves threatened by the drug traffickers and organised criminals who inhabit them. Armed and hooded men threatened to kill three Brazilian photographers covering a weekend visit by a mayoral candidate to one of Rio de Janeiro's shantytowns, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) report.

Colombia

PRESS FREEDOM VIOLATIONS ON THE WANE IN COLOMBIA, SAYS FLIP

Good news from Colombia: there were fewer press freedom violations in the first half of 2008 in Colombia than over the same period last year - likely because 2008 is not an election year, a new report by the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) has found.

Ecuador

GOBIERNO SE INCAUTA ESTACIÓNES DE TV

Colombia

SE ACEPTAN NOMINACIONES PARA PREMIO ORLANDO SIERRA AL VALOR 2008

Ecuador

LE GOUVERNEMENT SAISIT DES STATIONS DE TÉLÉVISION

Colombia

ON SOLLICITE DES MISES EN NOMINATION EN VUE DE L'ATTRIBUTION DU PRIX « ORLANDO-SIERRA » DU COURAGE 2008

Ecuador

GOVERNMENT SEIZES TV STATIONS

IFEX members are alarmed that the government's seizure of two television stations and the closure of a critical radio station in Ecuador last week may be a move to silence private broadcasters ahead of a constitutional referendum.

Colombia

NOMINATIONS WANTED FOR ORLANDO SIERRA PRIZE FOR COURAGE 2008

The Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP), "Semana" magazine and the energy company Petrobras are seeking nominations for the Orlando Sierra Prize, awarded to a regional journalist or organisation based in Colombia that demonstrates outstanding courage while working in risky and often difficult situations. The deadline for entries is 31 July 2008.

Venezuela

EJECUTIVO DE PERIÓDICO BALEADO

Venezuela

UN ADMINISTRATEUR DE JOURNAL EST ABATTU

Venezuela

NEWSPAPER EXECUTIVE GUNNED DOWN

The vice-president of a Venezuelan newspaper whose senior staff had received more than 50 death threats in the past year was gunned down last week, report the Institute for Press and Society (IPYS) and other IFEX members.

Paraguay

LES TRIBUNAUX RECONNAISSENT L'ACCÈS À L'INFORMATION COMME DROIT DE LA PERSONNE

Paraguay

TRIBUNALES RECONOCEN ACCESO A INFORMACIÓN COMO UN DERECHO HUMANO

Paraguay

COURTS RECOGNISE ACCESS TO INFO AS HUMAN RIGHT

Recent judicial decisions in Paraguay and the Dominican Republic recognise access to public information as a fundamental human right - which will hopefully have a profound effect on other countries in the region, says ARTICLE 19.

Bolivia

PERIODISTA RADIOFÓNICO MUERE TRAS ATAQUE A ESTACIÓN

Bolivia

UN JOURNALISTE MEURT APRÈS UN ATTENTAT CONTRE UNE STATION DE RADIO

Bolivia

RADIO JOURNALIST DIES AFTER ATTACK ON STATION

A journalist who got caught up in mob violence against a Bolivian radio station has died from his wounds, report the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and other press freedom groups.

Colombia

LE DIRECTEUR DE LA FIJ-COLOMBIE REMPORTE UN PRIX ESPAGNOL DES DROITS DE LA PERSONNE

Colombia

DIRECTOR DE FIP COLOMBIA GANA PREMIO ESPAÑOL DE PERIODISMO DE DERECHOS HUMANOS

Colombia

IFJ COLOMBIA DIRECTOR WINS SPANISH HUMAN RIGHTS JOURNALISM PRIZE

The director of the International Federation of Journalists' Solidarity Centre in Colombia (CESO-FIP) has won the Julio Anguita Parrado International Prize, the annual award from the Union of Andalucían Journalists in Spain, for his dedication to defending journalism and freedom of the press in Colombia.

Brazil

IGLESIA EVANGÉLICA PIERDE DEMANDAS CONTRA PERIÓDICO

Brazil

UNE ÉGLISE ÉVANGÉLIQUE PERD DES POURSUITES JUDICIAIRES CONTRE UN JOURNAL

Brazil

EVANGELICAL CHURCH LOSES LAWSUITS AGAINST NEWSPAPER

Brazil's largest newspaper has so far won seven lawsuits out of nearly 60 libel cases filed against it by an evangelical church, over an article that criticised the church's business empire, report the Brazilian Investigative Journalism Association (ABRAJI), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and other IFEX members.

Colombia

PERIODISTA ASESINADO EN MEDIO DE INUNDACIÓN DE AMENAZAS CONTRA MEDIOS

Colombia

UN JOURNALISTE EST TUÉ DANS UN FLOT DE MENACES ADRESSÉES AUX MÉDIAS

Colombia

JOURNALIST KILLED AMID FLOOD OF THREATS AGAINST MEDIA

A radio journalist was killed point blank in central Colombia on the country's Day of the Journalist, report the Solidarity Centre of the International Federation of Journalists in Colombia (CESO-IFJ), the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) and other IFEX members.

Brazil

IGLESIA DEMANDA A PERIODISTA Y PERIÓDICO

Brazil

UNE ÉGLISE POURSUIT UNE JOURNALISTE ET UN JOURNAL

Brazil

CHURCH SUES JOURNALIST, NEWSPAPER

A journalist and the largest newspaper in Brazil are facing 28 separate lawsuits over an article that criticises a church's business empire, reports the Brazilian Investigative Journalism Association (ABRAJI).

Brazil

CAMARÓGRAFO ASESINADO EN MEDIO DE GUERRA DE CRIMINALES

Brazil

UN CAMÉRAMAN EST TUÉ DANS UNE VAGUE DE CRIMINALITÉ

Brazil

CAMERAMAN KILLED AMID CRIME WAVE

A television cameraman was gunned down on 5 January amid a crime wave in Maceió, northeastern Brazil, report ARTICLE 19 and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Venezuela

MEDIOS AMENAZADOS EN MEDIO DE INTENTOS DE REFORMAS CONSTITUCIONALES

Bolivia

LES MÉDIAS SONT MENACÉS TANDIS QU'ON TENTE UNE RÉFORME CONSTITUTIONNELLE

Venezuela

MEDIA THREATENED AMID ATTEMPTS AT CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM

Venezuelans narrowly rejected constitutional reforms over the weekend that would have allowed President Hugo Chávez to proclaim an indefinite state of emergency and suspend press freedom. Meanwhile, violent clashes continue in Bolivia in response to President Evo Morales's reform plans.

Uruguay

SENADO APRUEBA PROYECTO DE LEY DE DIFUSIÓN COMUNITARIA

Uruguay

LE SÉNAT ADOPTE LE PROJET DE LOI SUR LA RADIODIFFUSION COMMUNAUTAIRE

Uruguay

SENATE PASSES COMMUNITY BROADCASTING BILL

In what the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) calls a "groundbreaking move for freedom of expression in Latin America," the Uruguayan Senate approved a Community Broadcasting Bill that recognises community broadcasting in its own right and says television and radio frequencies should be more equitably distributed.

Argentina

LA PUBLICITÉ MANIPULATRICE DU GOUVERNEMENT MINE LE JOURNALISME EN ARGENTINE, DIT LE CPJ

Argentina

PUBLICIDAD GUBERNAMENTAL MANIPULADORA SOCAVA COBERTURA EN ARGENTINA, DICE EL CPJ

Argentina

MANIPULATIVE GOVERNMENT ADVERTISING UNDERMINES COVERAGE IN ARGENTINA, SAYS CPJ

It came as no surprise that Cristina Fernández, wife of outgoing President Néstor Kirchner, was elected Argentina's president over the weekend. "News for Sale", the latest report from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), looks at one of the secrets behind her success: how her husband rewarded "friendly" news outlets with lucrative government advertising contracts.

Brazil

CAMPAÑA APOYA TRANSPARENCIA EN LICENCIAS DE DIFUSIÓN

Brazil

CAMPAGNE D'APPUI À LA TRANSPARENCE DANS L'ATTRIBUTION DES PERMIS DE RADIODIFFUSION

Brazil

CAMPAIGN SUPPORTS TRANSPARENCY IN BROADCASTING LICENCES

A coalition of civil society organisations and social movements, including ARTICLE 19, launched a campaign on 5 October 2007 to demand transparency and participation in Brazil's allocation of broadcasting licences. According to journalist and university professor Laurindo Leal Filho, "the Brazilian people are deprived of their right to know who holds the concessions and exactly when these concessions were granted."

Colombia

FLIP ENCUENTRA QUE VALLE DEL CAUCA ES UNA DE LAS PEORES ÁREAS PARA LOS PERIODISTAS; GRUPO DE DERECHOS HUMANOS CONDENA VÍNCULO ENTRE GOBIERNO Y PARAMILITARES

Colombia

LA FLIP CONSIDÈRE QUE LE VALLE DEL CAUCA EST L'UNE DES PIRES RÉGIONS POUR LES JOURNALISTES DE COLOMBIE; UN GROUPE DE DÉFENSE DES DROITS DÉNONCE LES LIENS ENTRE LE GOUVERNEMENT ET LES PARAMILITAIRES

Colombia

FLIP FINDS VALLE DEL CAUCA ONE OF WORST AREAS FOR JOURNALISTS IN COLOMBIA; RIGHTS GROUP CONDEMNS GOVERNMENT/PARAMILITARY LINK

Valle del Cauca department in western Colombia has one of the highest rates of press freedom violations in the country, forcing journalists into silence, the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa, FLIP) has found.

Colombia

ASESINATO DE REPORTERO EXIGE UNA INVESTIGACIÓN ADECUADA, DICEN MIEMBROS DE IFEX

Colombia

LE MEURTRE D'UN REPORTER NÉCESSITE UNE ENQUÊTE APPROPRIÉE, DISENT DES MEMBRES DE L'IFEX

Colombia

DES ATELIERS DE FLIPYS S'INTÉRESSENT À L'ACCÈS À L'INFORMATION ET AU JOURNALISME D'ENQUÊTE EN COLOMBIE

Colombia

REPORTER'S MURDER NEEDS PROPER INVESTIGATION, IFEX MEMBERS SAY

Police were too quick to dismiss that a Colombian journalist found stabbed to death last week was killed because of his work, say the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundacíon para la Libertad de Prensa, FLIP), the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto de Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS) the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and other rights groups.

Colombia

FLIPYS WORKSHOPS ADDRESS ACCESS TO INFO AND INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM IN COLOMBIA

Alliance FLIPYS, a new partnership between the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundacíon para la Libertad de Prensa, FLIP) and the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS) is running a series of workshops for journalists in Colombia on investigative journalism and access to information, with a special emphasis on how to uncover information on the "demobilised" paramilitaries.

Brazil

LIBRE EXPRESIÓN EN BRASIL NECESITA PROTECCIÓN, ENCUENTRA ARTICLE 19

Brazil

LA LIBRE EXPRESSION AU BRÉSIL DOIT ÊTRE PROTÉGÉE, CONSTATE ARTICLE 19

Brazil

FREE EXPRESSION IN BRAZIL NEEDS PROTECTION, ARTICLE 19 FINDS

Free expression in Brazil is "in need of immediate protection and action," an ARTICLE 19 mission to the country has found.

Paraguay

PERIODISTA CHILENO ASESINADA POR HOMBRES UNIFORMADOS

Paraguay

UN JOURNALISTE CHILIEN EST ASSASSINÉ PAR DES INDIVIDUS EN UNIFORME

Paraguay

CHILEAN JOURNALIST KILLED BY UNIFORMED MEN

A Chilean radio reporter was shot dead in Paraguay last week by two men wearing military uniforms, report the Paraguayan Union of Journalists (Sindicato de Periodistas del Paraguay, SPP), Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and international press freedom groups.

Paraguay

CONDENAN A AUTOR INTELECTUAL DE ASESINATO DE REPORTERO PARAGUAYO

Paraguay

LE CERVEAU RESPONSABLE DU MEURTRE D'UN REPORTER PARAGUAYEN EST RECONNU COUPABLE

Paraguay

MASTERMIND BEHIND MURDER OF PARAGUAYAN REPORTER CONVICTED

A mastermind of the 2004 murder of Paraguayan journalist Samuel Román has been convicted and sentenced to more than 17 years in jail, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) reports.

Venezuela

SUPREMA MANTIENE VIVA A RCTV POR AHORA

Venezuela

LA COUR SUPRÊME GARDE RCTV EN VIE POUR LE MOMENT

Venezuela

SUPREME COURT KEEPS RCTV ALIVE FOR NOW

Venezuela's Supreme Court ruled that TV channel Radio Caracas Television (RCTV) will remain on cable and satellite for the moment, acting just hours before a government deadline that could have taken it off the air for the second time in two months, report Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontieres, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Paraguay

UN REPORTER DE LA RADIO EST RETROUVÉ VIVANT 17 MOIS APRÈS ÊTRE DISPARU

Paraguay

ENCUENTRAN VIVO A REPORTERO DE RADIO 17 MESES DESPUÉS DE DESAPARICIÓN

Paraguay

RADIO REPORTER FOUND ALIVE 17 MONTHS AFTER DISAPPEARING

A Paraguayan radio reporter who disappeared shortly after denouncing the connection between the mafia and local politicians in his home town was found alive in Brazil 17 months later, report the Union of Paraguayan Journalists (Sindicato de Periodistas del Paraguay, SPP) and other press freedom groups.

Ecuador

PRESIDENTE CORTA ACCESO A LOS MEDIOS; LEYES DE INJURIA PODRÍAN ENCARCELAR A PERIODISTAS

Ecuador

LE PRÉSIDENT BLOQUE L'ACCÈS AUX MÉDIAS; LES LOIS SUR LES INSULTES POURRAIENT FAIRE INCARCÉRER DES JOURNALISTES

Ecuador

PRESIDENT CUTS MEDIA ACCESS; INSULT LAWS COULD JAIL JOURNALISTS

After a series of missteps with Ecuadorean media, President Rafael Correa has announced he will no longer give news conferences, according to Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF). Meanwhile he continues to invoke an insult law in suing a newspaper editor over a critical editorial.

Venezuela

PERIODISTAS MARCHAN PARA APOYAR A RCTV

Venezuela

LES JOURNALISTES MARCHENT EN FAVEUR DE RCTV

Venezuela

JOURNALISTS MARCH FOR RCTV

Journalists in Venezuela used National Journalists' Day on 27 June to demand that President Hugo Chavez reverse his decision to take the country's oldest broadcaster, Radio Caracas Television (RCTV), off the air.

Uruguay

PARLAMENTO APOYA LEY DE MEDIOS COMUNITARIOS DEMOCRÁTICOS

Bolivia

PRENSA BOLIVIANA ESTÁ LIBRE PERO OBSTACULIZADA POR CRÍTICAS DEL PRESIDENTE, ENCUENTRA EL CPJ

Uruguay

LE PARLEMENT APPUIE LA LOI SUR LES MÉDIAS COMMUNAUTAIRES DÉMOCRATIQUES

Bolivia

LA PRESSE BOLIVIENNE EST LIBRE MAIS ELLE EST ENTRAVÉE PAR LES CRITIQUES DU PRÉSIDENT, CONSTATE LE CPJ

Uruguay

PARLIAMENT SUPPORTS DEMOCRATIC COMMUNITY MEDIA LAW

A draft community media law that says television and radio frequencies in Uruguay should be equitably distributed won overwhelming support in the House of Representatives last week, report the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Bolivia

BOLIVIAN PRESS IS FREE, BUT HAMPERED BY PRESIDENT’S CRITICISM, CPJ FINDS

Despite a relatively open press climate, Bolivian President Evo Morales is too "thin-skinned" and is making reporters' working conditions increasingly difficult, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) found on a recent week-long mission to the country.

Venezuela

LA FERMETURE DE RCTV ACCENTUE LE CLIVAGE POLITIQUE

Colombia

EN COLOMBIE, LES PARAMILITAIRES « DÉMOBILISÉS » SE MOQUENT DE TOUT, CONSTATE RSF

Venezuela

CIERRE DE RCTV PROFUNDIZA DIVISIÓN POLÍTICA

Colombia

PARAMILITARES "DESMOVILIZADOS" EN COLOMBIA QUEDAN IMPUNES POR ASESINATO, ENCUENTRA RSF

Venezuela

CLOSURE OF RCTV DEEPENS POLITICAL DIVIDE

Tens of thousands of citizens took to the street - some to celebrate, others to protest - after Venezuela's oldest television network lost its licence and went off the air on Sunday, prompting numerous IFEX members to comment that President Hugo Chávez was limiting freedom of expression.

Colombia

"DEMOBILISED" PARAMILITARIES IN COLOMBIA GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER, RSF FINDS

What happened to the 30,000 paramilitaries recruited in Colombia in the 1980s to help fight the war on far-left guerrilla groups, supposedly "demobilised" by President Alvaro Uribe from 2003 to 2006? Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontieres, RSF) has found that nearly a quarter of them are still active - and behind some of the deadliest crimes against journalists in the country.

Bolivia

PERIODISMO EN CRISIS EN BOLIVIA, ENCUENTRA INFORME DE IMS

Bolivia

LE JOURNALISME TRAVERSE UNE CRISE EN BOLIVIE, CONCLUT UN RAPPORT DE L'IMS

Bolivia

JOURNALISM IN CRISIS IN BOLIVIA, IMS REPORT FINDS

Growing tensions among regional, ethnic and economic groups in Bolivia are being reflected in the media to the detriment of the country's unity, International Media Support (IMS) has found in a recent report.

South America

ARTICLE 19 LAUNCHES ACCESS TO INFORMATION ONLINE GUIDE

Want to expose corruption, unearth environmental hazards, uncover mismanagement of food supplies but don't know where to start? Learn your rights on how to get information with ARTICLE 19's latest online publication, "Guide for a Campaign in Favour of the Right to Access Information in Latin America", available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

South America

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY MARRED BY VIOLENCE

On World Press Freedom Day (3 May), as journalists converged in Colombia for the UN's official celebration to call for greater unity to protect their colleagues and to fight impunity against their attackers, a radio producer was gunned down in Guatemala City. Two days later, a Brazilian reporter was shot to death.

Chile

APRÈS UN TOLLÉ DE PROTESTATIONS, LA COUR SUPRÊME DOIT RESCINDER LES RESTRICTIONS IMPOSÉES À LA PRESSE

Chile

OBLIGAN A SUPREMA CORTE A RESCINDIR RESTRICCIONES DE PRENSA DEBIDO A INDIGNACIÓN DEL PÚBLICO

Chile

SUPREME COURT FORCED TO RESCIND PRESS RESTRICTIONS FOLLOWING PUBLIC OUTCRY

Chile's Supreme Court rescinded its decision to restrict journalists' access to court proceedings and public buildings following an outcry in the country's press, reports Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF), which joined the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS) and the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) in condemning the policy.

South America

VIOLENCE AGAINST JOURNALISTS THREATENS PRESS FREEDOM IN LATIN AMERICA

Journalist safety has deteriorated considerably in the past six months in Latin America: six journalists were killed in Mexico, one in Haiti and most recently a journalist in Peru, with many more journalists receiving death threats and being abused, report free expression organisations across the region.

Peru

REPORTERO DE RADIO BALEADO EN APARENTE ASESINATO POR ENCARGO

Peru

UN REPORTER DE LA RADIO EST ABATTU DANS CE QUI A TOUT L'AIR D'ÊTRE UN MEURTRE COMMANDITÉ

Peru

RADIO REPORTER GUNNED DOWN IN APPARENT CONTRACT KILLING

A radio journalist gunned down in front of his family may have been killed because of his work, report the Institute for Press and Society (Institute Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the International Freedom of Journalists affiliate Asociación Nacional de Periodistas del Perú (ANP).

Colombia

LES MÉDIAS BAIGNENT DANS UN « CLIMAT DE TERREUR »

Colombia

"CLIMA DE ZOZOBRA" IMPERA EN MEDIOS

Brazil

FOTÓGRAFO BALEADO

Brazil

UN PHOTOGRAPHE EST ASSASSINÉ

Colombia

"CLIMATE OF TERROR" PERVADES MEDIA

In Colombia, a "climate of terror" plagued the media in 2006, a year in which press freedom violations rose sharply, a new report by the Bogotá-based Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa, FLIP) has revealed.

Brazil

PHOTOGRAPHER GUNNED DOWN

Police in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, are investigating the murder of a freelance photographer who had received threats prior to his death, report the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Peru

AUMENTAN VIOLACIONES A LA LIBERTAD DE PRENSA

Peru

LES VIOLATIONS DE LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE SE MULTIPLIENT

Peru

PRESS FREEDOM VIOLATIONS INCREASE

In Peru, the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS) has released its annual press freedom report, saying the number of reported attacks on the press rose significantly in 2006 compared to the previous year.

Uruguay

UN EXPERT DE L'OEA APPUIE LES LOIS SUR LA RADIO COMMUNAUTAIRE ET LA LIBERTÉ D'ACCÈS À L'INFORMATION

Venezuela

UNE STATION DE TÉLÉVISION HOSTILE À CHÁVEZ POURRAIT PERDRE SON PERMIS D'EXPLOITATION

Uruguay

EXPERTO DE OEA APOYA RADIO COMUNITARIA Y LEYES DE ACCESO A LA INFORMACIÓN

Venezuela

ESTACIÓN DE TV ANTICHAVISTA PUEDE PERDER LICENCIA

Uruguay

OAS EXPERT SUPPORTS COMMUNITY RADIO AND ACCESS TO INFORMATION LAWS

In Uruguay, proposed legislation that would legally recognise community media and give citizens the right to access government-held information have received a boost of support from the Organization of American States' (OAS) Special Rapporteur on Free Expression.

Venezuela

ANTI-CHÁVEZ TV STATION MAY LOSE LICENCE

A decision by the Venezuelan government not to renew the licence of one of the country's oldest private broadcasters has prompted calls of concern from the Institute of Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Press Institute (IPI), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Inter American Press Association (IAPA).

Argentina

SUBVENCIÓN APOYA BATALLA LEGAL DE AUTOR DE LIBRO SOBRE GUERRA SUCIA

Peru

LEY DE ONG PROPUESTA ONG AMENAZA LIBRE EXPRESIÓN

Argentina

UNE SUBVENTION POUR SOUTENIR LA BATAILLE JUDICIAIRE DE L'AUTEUR DE « LA SALE GUERRE »

Peru

LA PROPOSITION DE LOI SUR LES ONG MENACE LA LIBRE EXPRESSION

Chile

LA COUR INTERAMÉRICAINE DES DROITS DE L'HOMME RECONNAÎT LE DROIT D'ACCÈS À L'INFORMATION

Chile

TRIBUNAL INTERAMERICANO RECONOCE DERECHOS DE ACCESO A LA INFORMACIÓN

Argentina

GRANT SUPPORTS "DIRTY WAR" AUTHOR'S LEGAL BATTLE

In a legal battle that could have important implications for free expression in Argentina, a journalist facing civil defamation charges for accusing former armed forces and police officers of torture and murder during the "Dirty War" is receiving international support, thanks to the World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC) and eight other press freedom organisations.

Peru

PROPOSED NGO LAW THREATENS FREE EXPRESSION

The Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS), Human Rights Watch, the World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) have expressed alarm at proposed amendments to a law in Peru that gives the government powers to deny foreign funds to free expression groups and thousands of other non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Paraguay

¡ACTÚE! PARAGUAY: PERIODISTA DESAPARECIDO

Colombia

MISIÓN INTERNACIONAL APOYA MEDIOS DE COMUNICACIÓN LOCALES

Paraguay

AGISSEZ ! PARAGUAY : UN JOURNALISTE EST PORTÉ DISPARU

Colombia

UNE MISSION INTERNATIONALE APPUIE LES MÉDIAS LOCAUX

Brazil

RADIO POLITIZADA FOMENTA VIOLENCIA CONTRA PERIODISTAS

Brazil

LA RADIO POLITISÉE ALIMENTE LA VIOLENCE CONTRE LES JOURNALISTES

Paraguay

TAKE ACTION! PARAGUAY: JOURNALIST MISSING

31 October 2006

Colombia

INTERNATIONAL MISSION SUPPORTS LOCAL MEDIA

An international mission of press freedom and free expression organisations has urged the Colombian government to provide more protection for threatened journalists, curb media concentration, reform laws that restrict independent media, and improve working conditions for journalists.

Brazil

POLITICISED RADIO FOSTERS VIOLENCE AGAINST JOURNALISTS

Brazil's impoverished Northeast region, where radio is the most popular news medium, has become known as one of the most dangerous areas for journalists in the Americas, with five journalists killed since 2000, says the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Chile

INTER-AMERICAN COURT RECOGNISES ACCESS TO INFORMATION RIGHTS

For the first time ever, an international tribunal has recognised access to government-held information as a basic human right. On 11 October 2006, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights confirmed the existence of such a right in a case pitting the Chilean government against three environmental activists who sought information on a controversial logging project, report the Open Society Justice Initiative and Access Info Europe.

Colombia

UN FESTIVAL DE POÉSIE COLOMBIENNE REMPORTE LE « NOBEL ALTERNATIF »

Colombia

FESTIVAL DE POESÍA COLOMBIANA GANA "NOBEL ALTERNATIVO"

Colombia

COLOMBIAN POETRY FESTIVAL WINS "ALTERNATIVE NOBEL"

The International Poetry Festival of Medellín in Colombia has been named co-winner of the 2006 Right Livelihood Award for "showing how creativity, beauty, free expression and community can flourish amongst and overcome deeply entrenched fear and violence."

Bolivia

SIP INSTA A INCLUIR GARANTÍAS PARA LIBERTAD DE PALABRA EN NUEVA CONSTITUCIÓN

Bolivia

LA SIP DEMANDE INSTAMMENT L'INCLUSION DANS LA NOUVELLE CONSTITUTION DE GARANTIES POUR PRÉSERVER LA LIBERTÉ DE PAROLE

Bolivia

IAPA URGES FREE SPEECH GUARANTEES IN NEW CONSTITUTION

As Bolivian lawmakers begin the process of drafting a new constitution for the country, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has joined the National Press Association (ANP) in calling for strong guarantees of protection for free expression and press freedom rights.

Venezuela

PERIODISTA ASESINADO

Colombia

SEGUNDO PERIODISTA ASESINADO EN UN MES

Venezuela

ASSASSINAT D'UN JOURNALISTE

Colombia

UN DEUXIÈME JOURNALISTE EST ASSASSINÉ EN UN MOIS

Venezuela

JOURNALIST MURDERED

Venezuelan authorities have been urged to conduct a thorough investigation into the murder of journalist Jesús Flores Rojas, who was gunned down by an unidentified man on 23 August 2006 in the eastern town of El Tigre.

Colombia

SECOND JOURNALIST KILLED IN A MONTH

Atilano Segundo Pérez Barrios, a commentator for Radio Vigía de Todelar in the northern Colombian city of Cartegena, was shot dead in his apartment on 22 August 2006, becoming the second journalist killed in the country in the past month, reported the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Brazil

¡ACTÚE! BRASIL: SIP LANZA CAMPAÑA DE ENVÍO DE CARTAS A CAUSA DE EDITOR ASESINADO

Colombia

PRESENTADOR DE RADIO BALEADO

Brazil

AGISSEZ ! BRÉSIL : LA SIP LANCE UNE CAMPAGNE ÉPISTOLAIRE EN FAVEUR D'UN JOURNALISTE ASSASSINÉ

Colombia

UN PRÉSENTATEUR DE LA RADIO EST ABATTU

Brazil

TAKE ACTION! BRAZIL: IAPA LAUNCHES LETTER CAMPAIGN FOR SLAIN EDITOR

15 August 2006

Colombia

RADIO PRESENTER GUNNED DOWN

Colombian authorities have been urged to thoroughly investigate the murder of community radio presenter Milton Fabián Sánchez, who was shot dead by gunmen on 9 August 2006 in the southeastern city of Yumbo.

Brazil

DOS PERIODISTAS MUERTOS EN UNA SEMANA

Brazil

DEUX JOURNALISTES TUÉS EN UNE SEMAINE

Brazil

TWO JOURNALISTS KILLED IN ONE WEEK

The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) have urged authorities in Brazil to conduct thorough investigations into the deaths of two journalists who were murdered last week.

Venezuela

LA SIP SOUTIENT QUE LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE SE « DÉTÉRIORE »

Venezuela

SIP DICE QUE LIBERTAD DE PRENSA "SE ESTÁ DETERIORANDO"

Venezuela

IAPA SAYS PRESS FREEDOM "DETERIORATING"

The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has expressed concern that press freedom in Venezuela may become more restricted in the run-up to presidential elections in December 2006. Following a mission to the country on 17-19 July, the organisation said press freedom conditions have deteriorated sharply, marked by restrictive laws, prosecution of journalists and a hostile attitude toward private media outlets.

Venezuela

LE NOMBRE DES VIOLATIONS DE LA LIBRE EXPRESSION DÉCLINE AU VENEZUELA, DIT L'IPYS

Venezuela

VIOLACIONES A LA LIBERTAD DE EXPRESIÓN DESCIENDEN EN VENEZUELA: IPYS

Venezuela

FREE EXPRESSION VIOLATIONS DECLINE IN VENEZUELA: IPYS

Free expression violations in Venezuela in 2005 declined by more than 50 per cent compared to the previous year, but the number of individuals affected increased, according to a new report co-authored by the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS).

Colombia

HAUSSE DU NOMBRE DES AGRESSIONS CONTRE LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE

Colombia

PRESS FREEDOM ATTACKS ON THE RISE

Press freedom violations in Colombia increased significantly in the first four months of this year, compared to the same period in 2005, due in part to a spate of attacks on the media during the March 2006 elections, the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundación par la Libertad de Prensa, FLIP) has found in a new report.

Venezuela

FOTÓGRAFO BALEADO

Venezuela

UN PHOTOGRAPHE EST ABATTU

Peru

ACCESO A LA INFORMACIÓN ES VITAL PARA MEJORAR LA SALUD REPRODUCTIVA Y SEXUAL: ARTICLE 19

Chile

IPYS Y ARTICLE 19 PRESENTAN INFORME ANTE TRIBUNAL PARA DEFENDER ACCESO A LA INFORMACIÓN

Peru

L'ACCÈS À L'INFORMATION, ÉLÉMENT VITAL D'UNE MEILLEURE SANTÉ REPRODUCTIVE ET SEXUELLE, DIT ARTICLE 19

Chile

L'IPYS ET ARTICLE 19 DÉPOSENT UN MÉMOIRE À LA DÉFENSE DE L'ACCÈS À L'INFORMATION

Venezuela

PHOTOGRAPHER GUNNED DOWN

IFEX members have urged Venezuelan authorities to investigate the murder of press photographer Jorge Aguirre, who was shot dead on 5 April 2006 as he approached a demonstration in Caracas.

Peru

ACCESS TO INFORMATION VITAL FOR IMPROVING REPRODUCTIVE AND SEXUAL HEALTH: ARTICLE 19

Access to information is a vital component of any serious strategy to promote and protect the right to reproductive and sexual health, argues ARTICLE 19 in a new report published in collaboration with the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS) and the Flora Tristán Centre for Peruvian Women.

Chile

IPYS, ARTICLE 19 FILE BRIEF ON ACCESS TO INFORMATION CASE

Five civil society organisations, including the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS) and ARTICLE 19, have filed an amicus curiae brief with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, urging it to rule that the American Convention on Human Rights guarantees the right to access information held by public bodies.

Colombia

LA FLIP ET LA FIJ APPUIENT UNE FORMATION EN SÉCURITÉ POUR LES JOURNALISTES COLOMBIENS

Colombia

UN ANIMATEUR DE LA RADIO TOMBE SOUS LES BALLES

Colombia

PRESENTADOR DE RADIO MUERE POR HERIDAS DE BALA

Colombia

FLIP, IFJ SUPPORT SAFETY TRAINING FOR COLOMBIAN JOURNALISTS

In Colombia, where a long-running conflict has made the country one of the most dangerous in the world for journalists, the Foundation for Press Freedom in Colombia (Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa, FLIP) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) have been partnering with the International News Safety Institute (INSI) and the British security consultancy AKE Ltd. to deliver safety training for media organisations.

Colombia

RADIO HOST DIES FROM GUNSHOT WOUNDS

Gustavo Rojas Gabalo, a popular radio show host in Montería, Colombia, died on 20 March 2006, more than six weeks after being shot in the head by a gunman, reported the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundación para libertad de la prensa, FLIP) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Argentina

DES JOURNALISTES DE PROVINCE SONT BOUSCULÉS PAR LES AUTORITÉS LOCALES

Argentina

AUTORIDADES LOCALES INTIMIDAN A PERIODISTAS PROVINCIALES

Argentina

PROVINCIAL JOURNALISTS BULLIED BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES

While Argentina, by and large, enjoys a free press, press freedom groups have expressed concerns over increasing incidences of threats and attacks on journalists in the provinces, and the influence of what is called "soft censorship" on the media.

Colombia

AGISSEZ ! COLOMBIE : LA SIP DEMANDE LA RÉOUVERTURE DE L'ENQUÊTE DANS UNE AFFAIRE DE MEURTRE

Ecuador

DEUX JOURNALISTES ASSASSINÉS

Ecuador

DOS PERIODISTAS ASESINADOS

Colombia

¡ACTÚE! COLOMBIA: SIP INSTA A REAPERTURA DE CASO DE ASESINATO

Colombia

TAKE ACTION! COLOMBIA: IAPA URGES RE-OPENING OF MURDER CASE

21 February 2006

Ecuador

TWO JOURNALISTS MURDERED

Police in Ecuador are investigating the murders of two journalists killed in the space of a week, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF). At press time, it is unclear whether the journalists were killed because of their work.

Colombia

LE VICE-PRÉSIDENT ANNONCE LA CRÉATION D'UN GROUPE DE TRAVAIL CHARGÉ D'ENQUÊTER SUR LES ATTAQUES CONTRE LES JOURNALISTES

Colombia

VICEPRESIDENTE ANUNCIA GRUPO DE TRABAJO PARA INVESTIGAR AGRESIONES CONTRA PERIODISTAS

Colombia

VICE PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES TASK FORCE TO INVESTIGATE ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS

Colombia's Vice President, Francisco Santos, has announced the creation of a task force charged with speeding up investigations into attacks and threats against journalists in the country, following a meeting with the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundación para la libertad de prensa, FLIP).

Paraguay

UN JUGEMENT DANS UNE AFFAIRE DE DIFFAMATION CONSTITUE UN RECUL POUR LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE

Paraguay

FALLO POR DIFAMACIÓN UN REVÉS PARA LA LIBERTAD DE PRENSA

Paraguay

DEFAMATION RULING A SETBACK FOR PRESS FREEDOM

In a judgment the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) calls a setback for press freedom, Paraguay's Supreme Court has ordered the director of a leading daily newspaper to pay a substantial fine for defaming a senator of the ruling Colorado Party, report IAPA and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Argentina

SIP EXHORTA A APROBAR PROYECTO DE LEY ORIGINAL DE DERECHO A SABER

Argentina

LA SIP RÉCLAME L'ADOPTION DU PROJET DE LOI ORIGINAL SUR LE DROIT DE SAVOIR

Argentina

IAPA URGES PASSAGE OF ORIGINAL RIGHT-TO-KNOW BILL

The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has criticised Argentina's Senate for watering down a bill that would give citizens the right to access public records, ensure more government accountability and set an example for other Latin American countries to follow.

Colombia

UN EXPERT EN DROITS DE L'OEA EXIGE LA FIN DE L'IMPUNITÉ

Colombia

EXPERTO JURÍDICO DE OEA INSTA A PONER FIN A IMPUNIDAD

Peru

LA SIP ET L'IPYS FONT CAUSE COMMUNE DANS UNE INITIATIVE POUR COMBATTRE L'IMPUNITÉ

Peru

SIP E IPYS SE UNEN A INICIATIVA PARA COMBATIR IMPUNIDAD

Peru

IAPA, IPYS JOIN INITIATIVE TO FIGHT IMPUNITY

The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS) have joined forces with Peruvian journalists to call for legal reforms to combat crimes against journalists and end impunity in Peru.

Colombia

OAS RIGHTS EXPERT URGES END TO IMPUNITY

The Colombian government should speed up investigations into the murders of journalists and strengthen resources for protecting those targeted for their reporting, says the Organization of American States' (OAS) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression.

Colombia

LA PEUR S'EMPARE DES MÉDIAS À VALLE DEL CAUCA

Colombia

FEAR GRIPS MEDIA IN VALLE DEL CAUCA

In Colombia's southeastern province of Valle del Cauca, journalists are being cowed into silence by attacks and threats from drug traffickers, paramilitaries, guerrillas and local politicians, according to a new report by five national and international press freedom groups that visited the region in July 2005.

Brazil

COLOQUIO INTERNACIONAL DE DERECHOS HUMANOS

Brazil

UN JOURNALISTE EST ASSASSINÉ

Peru

DE PLUS EN PLUS D'ATTENTATS CONTRE LES JOURNALISTES

Brazil

PERIODISTA ASESINADO

Peru

AUMENTAN AGRESIONES CONTRA PERIODISTAS

Brazil

JOURNALIST MURDERED

On 1 July 2005, José Cândido Amorim Pinto of Rádio Comunitária Alternativa was shot and killed by unidentified men in Carpina in Brazil's northeastern state of Pernambuco, noted Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Peru

ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS INCREASING

In Peru, an increasing number of journalists are being physically and verbally assaulted, with many of the attacks coming from members of the public, says Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF), citing a recent report by the National Association of Journalists of Peru (ANP).

Colombia

ON CRAINT POUR LA SÛRETÉ DES JOURNALISTES MENACÉS

Colombia

TEMORES POR SEGURIDAD DE PERIODISTAS AMENAZADOS

Colombia

FEARS FOR SAFETY OF THREATENED JOURNALISTS

IFEX members have urged Colombian authorities to boost efforts to ensure the safety of journalists in the country, following death threats against three well-known reporters. On 16 March 2005, funeral wreaths were sent to the homes and offices of Hollman Morris, Daniel Coronell and Carlos Lozano. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the threats.

Colombia

AUTOCENSURE ET IMPUNITÉ GÉNÉRALISÉES

Colombia

AUTOCENSURA E IMPUNIDAD OMNIPRESENTES

Colombia

SELF-CENSORSHIP, IMPUNITY PERVASIVE

Despite a decline in the number of journalists killed in Colombia, the media continue to work in a climate of fear and pervasive self-censorship, according to a new report by the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa, FLIP).

Ecuador

UN PHOTOGRAPHE PERD LA VIE PENDANT QU'IL COUVRAIT DES MANIFESTATIONS DE PROTESTATION

Ecuador

FOTÓGRAFO MUERE MIENTRAS CUBRE MANIFESTACIONES

Ecuador

PHOTOGRAPHER DIES COVERING PROTESTS

Amid protests in Quito last week that led to the ousting of Ecuador's former President Lucio Gutiérrez, a photographer lost his life, reported the World Association of Community Broadcasters (AMARC), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Colombia

UN CLIMAT DE PEUR ÉTOUFFE LES MÉDIAS À CÚCUTA

Colombia

CLIMA DE TEMOR ATENAZA A MEDIOS EN CÚCUTA

Colombia

CLIMATE OF FEAR GRIPS JOURNALISTS IN CÚCUTA

Journalists in Colombia's eastern city of Cúcuta work in a climate of fear where attacks against the press go unpunished and self-censorship is the norm, according to a new report by Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Venezuela

LE GOUVERNEMENT RESSERRE LES LOIS « DESACATO »

Venezuela

GOBIERNO HACE MÁS RESTRICTIVAS LAS LEYES DE "DESACATO"

Venezuela

GOVERNMENT TIGHTENS "DESACATO" LAWS

Across Latin America, a growing number of governments are repealing so-called "disrespect" ("desacato") laws that unfairly protect officials from public scrutiny and criticism. In Venezuela, however, the government is moving in the opposite direction, approving amendments to the country's Criminal Code that press freedom groups warn may further restrict the public's ability to monitor government actions.

Chile

LE CONGRÈS EST PRIÉ D'ABOLIR LES LOIS SUR LES « INSULTES »

Chile

INSTAN A CONGRESO A DEROGAR LEYES DE "DESACATO"

Chile

CONGRESS URGED TO SCRAP "INSULT" LAWS

In Chile, where criticising government and military officials can land a person in jail, efforts are underway to reform the country's free speech laws. A government bill proposing to decriminalise the country's so-called "insult" or "desacato" laws is making its way through the Senate, but Human Rights Watch and the World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC) warn that the final version may be too weak to protect the right of citizens and journalists to freely express their views.

Chile

IPYS, ARTICLE 19 SUPPORT ACCESS TO INFORMATION CASE

The Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS) and ARTICLE 19 have teamed up with two other organisations to support a Chilean legal case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) which could have significant repercussions for access to information laws in the Americas.

Colombia

QU'IL Y AIT MOINS D'ATTAQUES CONTRE LES MÉDIAS MASQUE UNE CULTURE D'AUTO-CENSURE

Colombia

MENOR NÚMERO DE ATAQUES CONTRA MEDIOS ENMASCARA CULTURA DE AUTOCENSURA

Colombia

FEWER ATTACKS AGAINST MEDIA MASK CULTURE OF SELF CENSORSHIP

In Colombia, where a long-standing civil conflict has made the country one of the world's most dangerous for the press, 2004 appears at first glance to have been a safer year for journalists, according to a new report by the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundación para la libertad de prensa, FLIP).

Argentina

Radio Folle donne une voix aux malades mentaux

Argentina

Radio La Colifata da voz a pacientes de instituciones mentales

Argentina

"Crazy" Radio Gives Voice to Mental Patients

1 February 2005

Colombia

UN JOURNALISTE DE LA RADIO EST ABATTU, UN AUTRE EST MENACÉ

Colombia

PERIODISTA RADIOFÓNICO BALEADO; AMENAZAN A OTRO

Colombia

RADIO JOURNALIST GUNNED DOWN, ANOTHER THREATENED

IFEX members are calling for an investigation into the murder of a controversial radio show host in Cúcuta, perhaps one of the most dangerous cities in Colombia for journalists.

Peru

L'IPYS S'INQUIÈTE POUR LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE

Peru

IPYS EXPRESA SU PREOCUPACIÓN POR LIBERTAD DE PRENSA

Peru

IPYS RAISES CONCERNS FOR PRESS FREEDOM

In Peru, the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS) says there is cause for concern over the state of press freedom in the country. In the last 12 months, the IFEX member has reported more than twice as many violations than it did in 2003.

Brazil

Des ONG brésiliennes forment un réseau d'accès à l'information

Brazil

ONG brasileña forma red de acceso a la información

Brazil

Brazilian NGOs Form Access-to-Information Network

4 January 2005

Venezuela

LA NOUVELLE LOI SUR LES MÉDIAS INQUIÈTE

Venezuela

INQUIETUD SOBRE NUEVA LEY DE MEDIOS

Venezuela

CONCERN OVER NEW MEDIA LAW

Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) have expressed concern over a recently passed law in Venezuela that gives the government more power to regulate media content.

Argentina

PERIODISTAS MET FIN À SES ACTIVITÉS

Argentina

PERIODISTAS ANUNCIA SU DISOLUCIÓN

Argentina

PERIODISTAS CLOSES

Nine years after it was founded to promote and defend freedom of expression in Argentina, the Association for the Defense of Independent Journalism (la Asociación para la Defensa del Periodismo Independiente, PERIODISTAS) has announced that it is closing.

Ecuador

Ofrecen seminarios de libre expresión para periodistas bolivianos y ecuatorianos

Brazil

IAPA TO SEND DELEGATIONS TO ARGENTINA, BRAZIL

The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) will be sending delegations to Argentina and Brazil in the coming weeks to discuss press freedom concerns with government authorities, including access to information and the regulation of journalists.

Paraguay

LA COUR INTERNATIONALE PORTE UN COUP À LA DIFFAMATION PÉNALE

Paraguay

TRIBUNAL INTERNACIONAL ASESTA GOLPE A DIFAMACIÓN PENAL

Paraguay

INTERNATIONAL COURT RULING STRIKES BLOW AGAINST CRIMINAL DEFAMATION

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has ruled that a criminal defamation conviction in Paraguay violated international law, a move that is expected to strengthen the efforts of free expression advocates in Latin America.

Colombia

PERIODISTAS COLOMBIANOS DEBATIERON SEGURIDAD EN MEDIOS Y REPORTAJE DE INVESTIGACIÓN

Colombia

COLOMBIAN JOURNALISTS DISCUSS MEDIA SAFETY, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

The safety of journalists in Colombia and the challenges facing investigative reporters will take centre stage at a day-long conference in Bogota hosted on 30 September 2004 by the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundación para la libertad de prensa, FLIP) and the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS).

Argentina

PERIODISTAS DEMANDE INSTAMMENT L'ADOPTION D'UN PROJET DE LOI SUR L'ACCÈS À L'INFORMATION

Argentina

PERIODISTAS INSTA LA APROBACIÓN DE PROYECTO DE LEY DE ACCESO A LA INFORMACIÓN

Argentina

PERIODISTAS URGES PASSAGE OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION BILL

In Argentina, free speech advocates' hopes of getting an access to information bill passed into law in the next two years could be dashed unless the proposed legislation is approved by the Senate in late November, reports the Argentine Association for the Defence of Independent Journalism (PERIODISTAS).

Venezuela

PRESENTADOR DE RADIO MUERTO

Venezuela

UN ANIMATEUR DE LA RADIO EST ASSASSINÉ

Venezuela

RADIO SHOW HOST KILLED

On 1 September 2004, unidentified men shot and killed radio show host Mauro Marcano in the city of Maturín, eastern Venezuela, reports the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS).

Brazil

UN AVANT-PROJET DE LOI VISE À RÉGLEMENTER LES JOURNALISTES

Brazil

PROYECTO DE LEY BUSCA REGULAR A PERIODISTAS

Brazil

DRAFT BILL SEEKS TO REGULATE JOURNALISTS

The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have expressed concerns over a proposed bill in Brazil which seeks to regulate journalists, warning it would severely restrict freedom of expression.

South America

IAPA ORGANISES JUDGE-JOURNALIST DIALOGUES IN ECUADOR, COLOMBIA

Journalists and judges will meet in Ecuador and Colombia this week to discuss press freedom and the law as part of the Inter American Press Association's (IAPA) continent-wide programme to encourage dialogue between media and the courts.

Brazil

UN JOURNALISTE DE LA RADIO EST ASSASSINÉ

Brazil

PERIODISTA RADIOFÓNICO ASESINADO

Brazil

RADIO JOURNALIST SLAIN

Police in Brazil's northeastern state of Alagoas are investigating the murder of Jorge Lourenco dos Santos, the owner of a radio station who was shot and killed in the town of Santana do Ipanema on 11 July, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Argentina

ESTACIONES DE RADIO COMUNITARIAS GANAN IMPORTANTE BATALLA LEGAL

Argentina

LES STATIONS DE RADIO COMMUNAUTAIRE REMPORTENT UNE GRANDE BATAILLE JUDICIAIRE

Argentina

COMMUNITY RADIO STATIONS WIN MAJOR LEGAL VICTORY

Index on Censorship reports that community radio stations in Argentina won a major victory when the country's Supreme Court decided on 4 September 2003 that a 1981 law prohibiting them was unconstitutional.

Colombia

SIP SIGUE CASOS DE PERIODISTAS MUERTOS

Bolivia

DIFUSORAS COMUNITARIAS OBTIENEN RECONOCIMIENTO LEGAL

Colombia

LA SIP SURVEILLE LES AFFAIRES DE JOURNALISTES ASSASSINÉS

Bolivia

LES RADIODIFFUSEURS COMMUNAUTAIRES OBTIENNENT LA RECONNAISSANCE JURIDIQUE

Ecuador

LE PRÉSIDENT RATIFIE LA LOI D'ACCÈS À L'INFORMATION

Bolivia

COMMUNITY BROADCASTERS WIN LEGAL RECOGNITION

In what is being hailed as a precedent setting move in Latin America, Bolivian president Carlos D. Mesa Gisbert has signed a decree on broadcasting that paves the way for legal recognition of community radio stations, reports the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC).

Ecuador

PRESIDENT SIGNS FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW

Ecuador joined the growing ranks of Latin American countries with freedom of information (FOI) laws last week when President Lucio Gutierrez signed a new law on access to public information, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) reports.

Ecuador

UNE ÉQUIPE D'ENQUÊTEURS REMPORTE UN PRIX DE JOURNALISME

Ecuador

EQUIPO DE INVESTIGACIÓN GANA PREMIO DE PERIODISMO

Ecuador

INVESTIGATIVE TEAM WINS JOURNALISM PRIZE

The Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS) and Transparency International have awarded a team of Ecuadorian investigative journalists the top prize for reporting on corruption in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Brazil

L'UNESCO financera un réseau brésilien de défense de la liberté de la presse

Brazil

UNESCO financiará red brasileña de libertad de prensa

Brazil

UNESCO to Fund Brazilian Press Freedom Network

13 April 2004

Colombia

LÍDER PARAMILITAR SENTENCIADO POR ASESINATO DE PERIODISTA

Colombia

LE CHEF D'UN GROUPE PARAMILITAIRE EST CONDAMNÉ POUR LE MEURTRE D'UN JOURNALISTE

Colombia

PARAMILITARY LEADER SENTENCED FOR MURDER OF JOURNALIST

On 10 March 2004, a Bogotá criminal court sentenced Carlos Castaño Gil to 38 years in prison for masterminding the 1999 murder of journalist Jaime Garzón, but acquitted the two men accused of the actual crime owing to tainted evidence, reported the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa, FLIP).

Venezuela

PERIODISTAS AGREDIDOS MIENTRAS EMPEORA DESCONTENTO SOCIAL

Venezuela

DES JOURNALISTES SONT AGRESSÉS TANDIS QUE L'AGITATION SOCIALE SE POURSUIT

Venezuela

JOURNALISTS ATTACKED AS CIVIL UNREST WORSENS

A growing number of journalists in various media have been wounded, assaulted, or threatened during the current clashes between the government forces of President Hugo Chávez and the opposition, report the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF), and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Colombia

Un expert des Nations Unies appelle à une meilleure protection pour les journalistes de Colombie

Chile

LA SIP DÉPÊCHE UNE DÉLÉGATION AU CHILI

Colombia

Experto de ONU insta a aumentar protección para periodistas Colombianos

Colombia

UN Expert Urges More Protection for Colombian Journalists

2 March 2004

Chile

IAPA SENDS DELEGATION TO CHILE

A delegation of Inter American Press Association (IAPA) members is visiting Chile this week to assess the state of press freedom in the country.

Paraguay

SPP ORGANIZARÁ SEMINARIO DE LIBRE EXPRESIÓN EN PARAGUAY

Peru

LOCUTOR DE RADIO ASESINADO

Paraguay

LE SPP TIENDRA AU PARAGUAY UN SÉMINAIRE SUR LA LIBRE EXPRESSION

Peru

UN ANIMATEUR DE LA RADIO EST ASSASSINÉ

Paraguay

SPP TO HOST FREE-EXPRESSION SEMINAR IN PARAGUAY

The Paraguay Union of Journalists (Sindicato de Periodistas del Paraguay, SPP) is teaming up with the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) to run a seminar next month aimed at giving journalists in Paraguay the proper tools to better report press-freedom issues.

Peru

RADIO HOST MURDERED

The Institute for Press Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) are calling for an investigation into the murder of Antonio De La Torre Echeandía, a radio journalist stabbed to death on 14 February 2004.

Argentina

LA SIP DONNE DES COURS DE FORMATION EN SÉCURITÉ EN ARGENTINE

Colombia

DES MEMBRES DE L'IFEX ÉVALUENT LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE EN COLOMBIE

Argentina

SIP CELEBRA CURSO DE CAPACITACIÓN EN SEGURIDAD EN ARGENTINA

Colombia

MIEMBROS DE IFEX EVALÚAN LIBERTAD DE PRENSA EN COLOMBIA

Argentina

IAPA HOLDS SAFETY TRAINING COURSE IN ARGENTINA

Reporters and editors from some of the most dangerous countries in Latin America for journalists are receiving important safety training in Argentina this week, thanks to the Inter American Press Association (IAPA).

Colombia

IFEX MEMBERS ASSESS PRESS FREEDOM IN COLOMBIA

Four IFEX members held a panel discussion this week in Colombia to look at the conflict-ridden country's prospects for press freedom in 2004. They said journalists face numerous challenges in reporting the news, including physical violence, impunity and a new anti-terrorism law that threatens their ability to protect sources.

Colombia

DES MEMBRES DE L'IFEX CRITIQUENT UNE LOI ANTITERRORISTE

Colombia

MIEMBROS DE IFEX CRITICAN LEY ANTITERRORISMO

Colombia

IFEX MEMBERS CRITICISE ANTI-TERRORISM LAW

IFEX members are taking Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to task over his government's human rights record this week as he lobbies European Union (EU) officials in Brussels for more aid. They are calling attention to a new anti-terrorism law that poses a serious threat to press freedom, and to the impunity surrounding the murders of journalists in Colombia.

Brazil

Brésil : Des journalistes d'enquête s'organisent

Brazil

BRASIL: PERIODISTAS DE INVESTIGACIÓN SE ORGANIZAN

Brazil

Brazilian Investigative Journalists Organise

13 January 2004

Colombia

UN JOURNALISTE DE LA TÉLÉVISION EST ABATTU

Colombia

PERIODISTA DE TV BALEADO

Colombia

TV JOURNALIST GUNNED DOWN

IFEX members have expressed concern over the murder of broadcast journalist William Soto Cheng, shot dead by unknown assailants in Buenaventura, Colombia on 18 December, 2003.

Venezuela

LA SIP ET L'IIP DIRIGENT UNE DÉLÉGATION AU VENEZUELA

Colombia

DES JOURNALISTES AURAIENT ÉTÉ TUÉS

Venezuela

SIP E IPI ENCABEZAN DELEGACIÓN A VENEZUELA

Colombia

PERIODISTAS SUPUESTAMENTE ASESINADOS

Venezuela

IAPA, IPI LEAD DELEGATION TO VENEZUELA

The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and the International Press Institute (IPI) are visiting Venezuela this week to lobby for press freedom guarantees in the run-up to a possible referendum that could decide the political future of President Hugo Chávez.

Colombia

JOURNALISTS REPORTEDLY KILLED

The Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundación para libertad de la prensa, FLIP), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) are investigating the reported murders of two journalists in India and Colombia this week to determine whether they were killed because of their work.

Colombia

UNE ANIMATRICE DE LA RADIO EST ASSASSINÉE

South America

IAPA LAUNCHES SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAM FOR LATIN AMERICAN JOURNALISTS

Journalists from some of Latin America's most imperiled countries are gaining valuable safety-training skills in the United States this week, courtesy of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and British risk assessment company Centurion.

Colombia

RADIO HOST KILLED

IFEX members are calling on Colombian authorities to investigate the murder of Zully Esther Codina, a radio host shot dead in the city of Santa Marta on 11 November while waiting for a bus near her home.

Colombia

UN PROJET DE LOI ANTITERRORISTE SOULÈVE L'INQUIÉTUDE

Colombia

COLOMBIA: PROYECTO DE LEY ANTITERRORISMO SUSCITA ALARMA

Colombia

ANTI-TERRORISM BILL RAISES ALARM

The ability of journalists in Colombia to protect the confidentiality of their sources will be threatened if a proposed anti-terrorism bill is passed by the country's Senate, warns Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Bolivia

AU MILIEU DE LA TOURMENTE POLITIQUE, DES JOURNALISTES SONT CIBLÉS

Bolivia

PERIODISTAS ATACADOS DURANTE AGITACIÓN POLÍTICA

Bolivia

JOURNALISTS TARGETED AMID POLITICAL UPHEAVAL

Numerous IFEX members have called attention to attacks and threats on journalists in Bolivia amid massive popular demonstrations that left more than 50 dead and led to the resignation last Friday of president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada.

Colombia

UN ANNONCEUR DE LA RADIO EST ASSASSINÉ

Colombia

ASESINAN A PRESENTADOR DE RADIO

Colombia

RADIO ANNOUNCER MURDERED

The Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundación para la libertad de prensa, FLIP) is investigating the motives behind the murder of José Nel Muñoz, a radio announcer whose body was found near Puerto Libertad, Putumayo, on 5 October. Muñoz had gone missing the previous day after journeying from Puerto Asís to Puerto Libertad to host an event. His body was retrieved by his wife and local journalists, who said Muñoz may have been tortured, according to FLIP.

Colombia

DES JOURNALISTES COLOMBIENS REÇOIVENT DE LA FORMATION EN SÉCURITÉ

Colombia

PERIODISTAS COLOMBIANOS RECIBEN CAPACITACIÓN EN SEGURIDAD

Colombia

COLOMBIAN JOURNALISTS RECEIVE SAFETY TRAINING

Fifteen journalists from Colombia gained new skills in safety training last week, thanks to efforts led by the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundación para la libertad de prensa, FLIP) and the Antonio Nariño Project (Proyecto Antonio Nariño).

Colombia

LA FLIP LANCE UN MANUEL DE SÉCURITÉ POUR LES JOURNALISTES COLOMBIENS

Colombia

FLIP PRESENTA MANUAL DE SEGURIDAD PARA PERIODISTAS COLOMBIANOS

Colombia

FLIP LAUNCHES SAFETY MANUAL FOR COLOMBIAN JOURNALISTS

In Colombia, where dozens of journalists have been killed in the past decade and hundreds more threatened because of their work, the media need to know how to protect themselves. Now they have a guide containing just such information, thanks to the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundación para la libertad de prensa, FLIP).

Peru

IPYS REVAMPS WEBSITE

The Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS) has revamped its website, adding new features, including an archive containing some of the best investigative reporting in the region over the past 20 years.

Colombia

SE SOSPECHA QUE REBELDES MATARON A UN PERIODISTA Y LESIONARON A OTRO

Colombia

UN JOURNALISTE EST TUÉ ET UN AUTRE BLESSÉ : ON SOUPÇONNE LES REBELLES

Colombia

REBELS SUSPECTED AS ONE JOURNALIST KILLED, ONE INJURED

On 22 August, Juan Carlos Benavides Arévalo, a journalist with the community radio station Manantial Estéreo, was shot and killed at a checkpoint near the southern town of Puerto Caicedo, report the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa, FLIP), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Jaime Conrado Juajibioy Cuarán, Benavides' colleague at the station, was also seriously injured when suspected rebels shot at their vehicle, which did not stop at the roadblock. The two journalists were travelling with a group to a meeting between President Alvaro Uribe and regional officials in Puerto Asís.

Brazil

LA SIP ENCOURAGE LE DIALOGUE ENTRE JOURNALISTES ET JUGES AU BRÉSIL

Brazil

SIP PROMUEVE DIÁLOGO DE JUECES Y PERIODISTAS EN BRASIL

Brazil

IAPA PROMOTES JOURNALIST-JUDGE DIALOGUE IN BRAZIL

The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) will hold a conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on 29 August, bringing judges and journalists from all across Brazil to dialogue on press-freedom issues.

Brazil

UN TROISIÈME JOURNALISTE PERD LA VIE EN UN MOIS

Brazil

3RD JOURNALIST KILLED IN A MONTH

A third journalist in Brazil has been killed in less than a month, sparking calls of concern from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Inter American Press Association (IAPA).

Brazil

TWO JOURNALISTS MURDERED

In Brazil, which the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) calls one of the most dangerous countries in the Americas for journalists, two reporters have been killed in the last week.

Brazil

Brazil: New Press Freedom Network Formed

3 June 2003

Venezuela

JOURNALISTS CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE

Human Rights Watch has released a report calling on the Venezuelan government to appoint a special panel to investigate attacks on journalists, saying authorities are not doing enough to stem violence against the media. "Caught in the Crossfire: Freedom of Expression in Venezuela" concludes that Venezuela's justice system is failing to identify and punish those who attack and threaten journalists.

Venezuela

IAPA WARNS AGAINST PROPOSED MEDIA LAWS

The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has called on the Venezuelan government to amend two proposed bills it says are aimed at suppressing media criticism of public officials and creating a "news media oversight council" to monitor the press. IAPA held what it called an "emergency" public forum in Caracas earlier this month calling attention to the so-called draft Law on Social Responsibility in Radio and Television and the Organic Law of Participation by Citizens.

Argentina

PERIODISTAS PRESIDENT HONOURED WITH IWMF AWARD

Argentine journalist and president of Periodistas, Magdalena Ruiz Guinazu, has been honoured by the International Womens' Media Foundation with a Lifetime Achievement Award for services to journalism and press freedom.

Argentina

PERIODISTAS RAISES PRESS-FREEDOM CONCERNS WITH PRESIDENT

Calling it an important first step in raising awareness of free expression violations with Argentina's political leadership, PERIODISTAS (Asociacion para la Defensa del Periodismo Independiente) met with president Eduardo Duhalde twice last month and raised concerns about the rising number of attacks on journalists in the country.

Colombia

DES MEMBRES DE L?IFEX EXIGENT PLUS DE PROTECTION POUR LES JOURNALISTES

Venezuela

RSF PUBLIE UN RAPPORT SUR LA SITUATION DE LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE

Venezuela

RSF PUBLICA NUEVO INFORME SOBRE LIBERTAD DE PRENSA

Colombia

MIEMBROS DE IFEX INSTAN A DAR MÁS PROTECCIÓN A PERIODISTAS

Venezuela

RSF ISSUES NEW REPORT ON PRESS FREEDOM

Journalists in Venezuela are in a tough spot. On one side is an "authoritarian president" who does little to stop his supporters from attacking journalists. On the other side are "intolerant" private media owners who have openly backed attempts to oust him, seriously breaching professional journalism ethics.

Colombia

IFEX MEMBERS URGE MORE PROTECTION FOR JOURNALISTS

The Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundacion para libertad de prensa, FLIP), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) have urged the Colombian government to provide greater protection to journalists in the country, after a radio journalist was assassinated and 16 reporters in the region of Arauca received death threats.

Colombia

ENCORE UN JOURNALISTE ASSASSINÉ

Colombia

OTRO PERIODISTA ASESINADO

Colombia

ANOTHER JOURNALIST KILLED

The Colombian government's journalist protection program has come under criticism after a reporter under its purview was shot and killed early this morning in Arauca.

Colombia

PERIODISTA ASESINADO

Colombia

UN JOURNALISTE EST ASSASSINÉ

Colombia

JOURNALIST KILLED

Radio journalist Oscar Salazar Jaramillo was found stabbed to death in his home yesterday in Sevilla, Colombia. Local authorities did not indicate whether Salazar had received threats, Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) says.

Venezuela

LE GOUVERNEMENT ORDONNE UNE ENQUÊTE SUR LES STATIONS DE TÉLÉVISION

Colombia

GROUPES DE DÉFENSE DE LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE LANCENT UNE CAMPAGNE DE SÉCURITÉ

Colombia

GRUPOS DE LIBERTAD DE PRENSA INICIAN CAMPAÑA DE SEGURIDAD

Venezuela

GOBIERNO ORDENA INVESTIGAR ESTACIONES DE TELEVISIÓN

South America

THINKTANK LAUNCHES ACCESS TO INFORMATION STUDY

The most up-to-date information on access to information and other free-expression laws in South America's Andean region is now available, thanks to a new study launched by the Andean Commission of Jurists (Comision Andina de Juristas, CAJ).

Colombia

PRESS-FREEDOM GROUPS LAUNCH SAFETY CAMPAIGN

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundación para libertad de prensa, FLIP) called attention to the safety of journalists in Colombia last week, demanding an end to the assassinations and attacks that have made the country one of the most dangerous for journalists.

Venezuela

GOVERNMENT ORDERS PROBE OF TELEVISION STATIONS

As Venezuela's political crisis continues to escalate, President Hugo Chávez has ordered a probe of five private television stations for alleged violation of broadcasting rules, report Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Inter American Press Association (IAPA).

Colombia

DES JOURNALISTES SONT LIBÉRÉS

Colombia

PERIODISTAS LIBERADOS

Colombia

JOURNALISTS FREED

Freelance reporters Ruth Morris and Scott Dalton have been released following 11 days of captivity by armed rebels in eastern Colombia, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF). The journalists were in good health and said they were treated decently.

Colombia

DEUX JOURNALISTES SONT ENLEVÉS, TROIS AUTRES SONT REMIS EN LIBERTÉ

Colombia

DOS PERIODISTAS SECUESTRADOS, OTROS TRES LIBERADOS

Colombia

TWO JOURNALISTS KIDNAPPED, THREE OTHERS RELEASED

As Unites States Special Forces troops arrived in Colombia last week to train Colombian troops in fighting rebels, five foreigners, including three journalists were kidnapped in the space of less than two days, prompting calls of alarm from press-freedom groups, including Colombia's Press Freedom Foundation (Fundacion para la libertad de prensa, FLIP), the Institute for Press and Society and the International Federation of Journalists.

Colombia

LA SIP DÉPÊCHE UNE MISSION SUR LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE

Venezuela

DES JOURNALISTES COINCÉS ENTRE LES TIRS CROISÉS

Colombia

SIP ENVÍA DELEGACIÓN DE LIBERTAD DE PRENSA

Venezuela

PERIODISTAS ATRAPADOS EN FUEGO CRUZADO

Colombia

IAPA SENDS PRESS-FREEDOM DELEGATION

Press-freedom attacks in Colombia will be under the spotlight again this week as an Inter American Press Association (IAPA) delegation arrives in the country to meet with senior government leaders, including President Alvaro Uribe.

Venezuela

JOURNALISTS CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE

As political tensions continue to rise in Venezuela amidst an opposition strike aimed at removing President Hugo Chávez from office, more and more journalists attempting to report on the situation are getting caught in the crossfire, report the Institute for Press and Society (Instito prensa y sociedad, IPYS) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Colombia

LES MEMBRES DE L?IFEX SE MESURENT AUX MENACES CONTRE DES JOURNALISTES

Colombia

MIEMBROS DE IFEX CONFRONTAN AMENAZAS CONTRA PERIODISTAS

Colombia

IFEX MEMBERS CONFRONT THREATS AGAINST JOURNALISTS

Several IFEX members will be joining other press-freedom groups in Bogota, Colombia, in March for a conference calling attention to one of the most serious free-expression problems in the country – threats against journalists and impunity.

Argentina

LES AGRESSIONS CONTRE LES JOURNALISTES SE SONT MULTIPLIÉES EN 2002

Argentina

AGRESIONES CONTRA PERIODISTAS AUMENTARON EN 2002

Argentina

ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS UP IN 2002

Human rights violations against journalists in Argentina increased by one-third last year compared to 2001, making the country one of the most dangerous for journalists in Latin America, says a year-end report released by the Argentine Federation of Media Workers (Federacion Argentina de Trabajadores de Prensa, FATPREN).

Colombia

UNE MISSION CONSTATE QUE LES MÉDIAS DE PROVINCE SONT EN DANGERCOLOMBIE :

Colombia

MISSION FINDS PROVINCIAL MEDIA IN DANGER

In Colombia's eastern province of Arauca, the news is in danger. Local journalists say freedom of expression has worsened since the murder last year of influential journalist Efraín Varela, and will be under threat as long as government troops and armed groups continue to violate journalists' right to inform without censorship or intimidation.

Argentina

ATAQUES CONTRA LA PRENSA PROMUEVEN "CLIMA DE TEMOR"

Argentina

LES ATTAQUES CONTRE LA PRESSE ALIMENTENT UN « CLIMAT DE PEUR »

Argentina

ATTACKS ON PRESS FOSTER CLIMATE OF FEAR

Press-freedom groups are calling attention to increasing attacks against journalists in Argentina that are fostering what the Committee to Protect Journalists calls a "climate of fear among members of the press."

Venezuela

DE NOMBREUX JOURNALISTES SONT ATTAQUÉS

Venezuela

VEINTENAS DE PERIODISTAS AGREDIDOS

Venezuela

SCORES OF JOURNALISTS ATTACKED

As tensions mount in Venezuela amidst a general strike protesting the government of President Hugo Chávez, at least 14 journalists have been attacked in recent days while attempting to report on the situation, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS).

Colombia

L?ADMINISTRATEUR D?UNE STATION DE RADIO EST ASSASSINÉ

Colombia

ASESINAN A GERENTE DE ESTACIÓN DE RADIO

Colombia

RADIO STATION MANAGER MURDERED

Gimbler Perdomo Zamora, a radio station manager and former politician in Gigante, southwestern Colombia, was shot and killed on 1 December, report the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundacion para la libertad de prensa, FLIP), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Colombia

UN SÉMINAIRE SUR LA LIBRE EXPRESSION SE PENCHE SUR L?ÉTHIQUE DES MÉDIAS

Colombia

SEMINARIO DE LIBRE EXPRESIÓN ABORDA ÉTICA DE MEDIOS

Venezuela

IPYS CELEBRA SEMINARIOS DE LIBERTAD DE PRENSA PARA PERIODISTAS JÓVENES

Colombia

FREE-EXPRESSION SEMINAR TACKLES MEDIA ETHICS

Colombia's Foundation for New Latin American Journalism (Fundación Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano, FNPI) and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) are holding a seminar on freedom of expression in December focused on media ethics and instilling an awareness of free-expression rights amongst the press, reports International Journalists' Network (IJNet).

Venezuela

IPYS HOLDS PRESS FREEDOM SEMINARS FOR YOUNG JOURNALISTS

Amidst Venezuela's tense political situation, three organisations, including the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Libertad, IPYS), have been holding country-wide forums for young journalists aimed at creating a space for dialogue and fostering a culture of peace.

Chile

ABOLITION DE LA CENSURE DU CINÉMA; LE WPFC INVITE À L'ÉLIMINATION DES LOIS « DESACATO »

Chile

CINEMATOGRÁFICA ABOLIDA / WPFC Y HRW INSTAN A ELIMINACIÓN DE LEYES DE DESACATO

Chile

FILM CENSORSHIP ABOLISHED / WPFC, HRW URGE ELIMINATION OF "DESACATO" LAWS

For the first time in 10 years, Chileans will be able to see more than 1,000 films that had previously been banned following Senate approval of a new law abolishing film censorship, reports PERIODISTAS (la Asociacion para la Defensa del Periodismo Independiente).

Uruguay

LE PROJET DE LOI SUR L?ACCÈS À L?INFORMATION FRANCHIT LE PREMIER OBSTACLE

Uruguay

PROYECTO DE LEY DE ACCESO A LA INFORMACIÓN SALVÓ PRIMER OBSTÁCULO

Uruguay

ACCESS TO INFORMATION BILL PASSES FIRST HURDLE

Uruguay's Congress has given its preliminary approval to a new access to information bill that would enable journalists and the public to obtain government records for the first time, report the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC).

Brazil

AUTORIDADES PRESIONADAS PARA QUE INVESTIGUEN ASESINATO DE PERIODISTA

Brazil

LES AUTORITÉS SUBISSENT DES PRESSIONS POUR ENQUÊTER SUR LE MEURTRE D'UN JOURNALISTE

Brazil

AUTHORITIES UNDER PRESSURE TO INVESTIGATE JOURNALIST'S MURDER

During a week that has seen one journalist killed and another shot in Brazil, free-expression groups are stepping up pressure on authorities to investigate the crimes and end the impunity surrounding attacks on the press.

Argentina

LES AGRESSIONS CONTRE LES JOURNALISTES EMPIRENT

Argentina

EMPEORAN AGRESIONES CONTRA PERIODISTAS

Argentina

ATTACKS AGAINST JOURNALISTS WORSEN

PERIODISTAS (Asociacion para la Defensa del Periodismo Independiente) has released its annual report on freedom of expression in Argentina, saying a 50-per-cent increase in the use of the courts to silence journalists highlights the need for legal reform.

Colombia

UN JOURNALISTE EST TUÉ DANS UNE EMBUSCADE

Colombia

PERIODISTA ASESINADO EN EMBOSCADA

Colombia

JOURNALIST KILLED IN AMBUSH

Both the Bogotá-based Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundacion para la Libertad de Prensa, FLIP) and the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS) in Peru report that journalist Américo Viáfara was killed on 16 September in the city of Calí.

Venezuela

FERA ENQUÊTE SUR LA SITUATION DE LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE

Venezuela

DELEGACIÓN DE IPI Y SIP INVESTIGARÁ ESTADO DE LIBERTAD DE PRENSA

Venezuela

IPI, IAPA DELEGATION TO PROBE STATE OF PRESS FREEDOM

The International Press Institute (IPI) and the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) are gearing up to send a delegation of media professionals to assess the state of press freedom in Venezuela.

Venezuela

LES JOURNALISTES PRIS DANS LE FEU CROISÉ D?UN CONFLIT POLITIQUE

Venezuela

PERIODISTAS ATRAPADOS EN FUEGO CRUZADO DE CONFLICTO POLÍTICO

Venezuela

JOURNALISTS CAUGHT IN CROSSFIRE OF CHÁVEZ-MEDIA CONFLICT

Journalists in Venezuela are being used as ammunition in the increasingly polarised conflict between President Chávez and the private media, according to a report released last week by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Based on more than a dozen interviews CPJ conducted in May with Venezuelan journalists, the report documents the growing trend of journalists who find themselves victims in a war of words between Chávez and media owners who have become ardent opponents of the president.

Colombia

DISTRIBUIDORA DE PERIÓDICO ASESINADA

Colombia

LA DISTRIBUTRICE D?UN JOURNAL EST ASSASSINÉE

Peru

NEW ACCESS-TO-INFORMATION LAW AVAILABLE ONLINE

The world's newest access-to-information law is now available online (in Spanish only). On 27 June, Peru's Congress passed the Access to Information Law, a move the Peruvian Press Council (PPC) calls a step in the right direction. PPC has been leading a campaign to create such a law. It says the law needs to be strengthened so that it can bring an end to the "culture of secrecy" in Peru and encourage greater government transparency.

Colombia

NEWSPAPER DISTRIBUTOR ASSASSINATED

Members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are suspected of being responsible for the murder of newspaper distributor Elizabeth Obando, abducted from a bus and shot on 11 July in Playarrica, report the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundacion para la Libertad de Prensa, FLIP) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Venezuela

LA FIJ INVITE AU DIALOGUE ENTRE CHÁVEZ ET LES MÉDIAS

Colombia

UN JOURNALISTE EST ASSASSINÉ, DEUX AUTRES ÉCHAPPENT À LA MORT

Colombia

PERIODISTA ASESINADO; OTROS DOS ESCAPAN DE ASESINATO

Venezuela

FIP INSTA AL DIÁLOGO ENTRE CHÁVEZ Y MEDIOS DE COMUNICACIÓN

Colombia

JOURNALIST KILLED; TWO OTHERS ESCAPE ASSASSINATION

The Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundacion para la libertad de prensa, FLIP), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS) have reported yet another journalist murdered in Colombia. On the evening of 17 July, Dennis Segundo Sánchez, long-time radio journalist for 95.5 Estero, was shot dead in front of his house in El Carmen de Bolivar, a town north of Bogotá.

Venezuela

IFJ URGES DIALOGUE BETWEEN CHÁVEZ AND MEDIA

Following a fact-finding mission to Venezuela last month, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has issued a report criticising both President Hugo Chávez and media organisations for contributing to a climate of censorship and hostility during the brief coup d'état in April.

Colombia

DEUX PROPRIÉTAIRES DE STATIONS DE RADIO SONT ASSASSINÉS

Colombia

ASESINAN A PROPIETARIOS DE ESTACIONES DE RADIO

Colombia

RADIO STATION OWNERS MURDERED

In Colombia - dubbed "the most dangerous country in the world" for journalists by the International Press Institute (IPI) - two radio station proprietors have been murdered in the space of a week.

Colombia

INFORME DE FLIP E IPYS REVELA CLIMA DE TEMOR DURANTE ELECCIONES

Brazil

REPORTERO DE INVESTIGACIÓN ASESINADO EN MEDIO DE CLIMA DE IMPUNIDAD

Colombia

RÉVÈLE L?EXISTENCE D?UN CLIMAT DE PEUR PENDANT LA CAMPAGNE ÉLECTORALE

Brazil

UN JOURNALISTE D'ENQUÊTE EST ASSASSINÉ DANS UNE ATMOSPHÈRE D'IMPUNITÉ

Colombia

FLIP, IPYS REPORT REVEALS CLIMATE OF FEAR DURING ELECTIONS

The recent presidential elections in Colombia took place in a climate of fear and intimidation which prevented the press from reporting fully on the situation, concludes a report recently issued by the Foundation for Press Freedom (Fundacion para la Libertad de Prensa, FLIP), the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS) and the Antonio Nariño Project (Proyecto Antonio Nariño).

Brazil

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER MURDERED AMIDST CLIMATE OF IMPUNITY

Press-freedom groups are mourning the death of award-winning Brazilian investigative reporter Tim Lopes, tortured and murdered by a gang allegedly led by a Rio de Janeiro drug trafficker. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) say authorities confirmed Lopes' death on 9 June after police arrested two members of a gang who said the journalist was kidnapped, tortured and speared to death.

Argentina

UN PROJET DE LOI PRÉVOIT DES PEINES DE PRISON EN CAS DE RADIODIFFUSION ILLÉGALE

Argentina

PROYECTO DE LEY PROPONE PENAS DE CÁRCEL POR EMISIÓN ILEGAL

Argentina

DRAFT BILL PROPOSES JAIL TERMS FOR ILLEGAL BROADCASTING

A bill before Argentina's Senate proposing jail terms of up to two years for unauthorised broadcasting would unjustly penalise community radio and other non-commercial stations, says the Argentine Association for the Defence of Independent Journalism (la Asociacion para la Defensa del Periodismo Independiente, PERIODISTAS). The group says thousands of unlicenced broadcasters all over the country would be vulnerable to prison sentences, threatening the only information source available to marginal sectors of society.

Colombia

UN JOURNALISTE EST ABATTU

Colombia

PERIODISTA MUERTO A TIROS

Colombia

JOURNALIST SHOT DEAD

Víctor Omar Acosta, a former reporter for several Colombian newspapers and radio stations, has been murdered in the western city of Yumbo, reports the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS). On 14 May, two men shot him three times near his home. He died six hours after being transferred to a hospital in the city of Cali.

Colombia

À PRENDRE DES ENGAGEMENTS VIS-À-VIS DE LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE

Colombia

FLIP INVITA A CANDIDATOS A PRESIDENCIA A COMPROMETERSE CON LIBERTAD DE PRENSA

Colombia

FLIP INVITES PRESS FREEDOM PLEDGES FROM PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

The Antonio Nariño Project for the Defence of Freedom of Expression and the Right to Information, of which Fundacion para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP) is a partner, is celebrating World Press Freedom Day on 3 May with a conference to present an extensive report on such topics as journalists murdered in the past year (12), attacks against the media (car bombs and violence), threats against journalists (17), and the state of judicial investigations in these cases.

Bolivia

COCHE BOMBA MATA A PERIODISTA

Colombia

MIEMBROS DE EQUIPO DE NOTICIAS DE TV ASESINADOS

Venezuela

EN ENFRENTAMIENTOS; CHÁVEZ DICE QUE NO HABRÁ MÁS ATAQUES A LA LIBRE EXPRESIÓN

Bolivia

L?EXPLOSION D?UNE VOITURE PIÉGÉE TUE UNE JOURNALISTE

Venezuela

CHÁVEZ DIT QU?IL N?Y AURA PLUS D?ATTAQUES CONTRE LA LIBRE EXPRESSION

Colombia

DEUX MEMBRES D?UNE ÉQUIPE DE NOUVELLES TÉLÉVISÉES PERDENT LA VIE

Bolivia

CAR BOMB KILLS JOURNALIST

Employees of Bolivia's "El Diario" newspaper are in mourning following the murder of executive director Maria Teresa Guzmán in La Paz last week. On 10 April, Guzmán was driving home from work at 10:15 PM when a bomb exploded in the back of her vehicle, says the Inter American Press Association (IAPA). Her husband, "El Diario" General Director Jorge Carrasco Jahnsen, believes the bomb was meant for him instead in response to some investigations the newspaper was about to publish. Carrasco also says his wife's murder was part of a planned campaign against "El Diario," since the newspaper has endured 11 violent attacks in the last six months.

Colombia

TV NEWS CREW MEMBERS KILLED

Two members of a television news crew were killed in Colombia last week while reporting on fighting between army troops and rebels. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says Héctor Sandoval, a cameraman for RCN Television, and Wálter Lopez, a driver for the station, died after coming under fire on 11 April in a mountainous region near Cali, southwest Colombia. They were traveling in an area where army soldiers had been pursuing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas who had recently kidnapped 13 provincial officials.

Venezuela

JOURNALIST KILLED IN CLASHES; CHAVEZ SAYS NO MORE ATTACKS ON FREE EXPRESSION

Amid an extraordinary turn of events last week which saw Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez ousted from office then restored to power within four days, free-expression groups called attention to the death of journalist Jorge Tortoza and the wounding of three others.

Peru

UN SÉMINAIRE SE PENCHE SUR LA QUESTION DE L?ACCÈS À L?INFORMATION

Colombia

UN JOURNALISTE EST ASSASSINÉ

Peru

SEMINARIO ABORDA ACCESO A LA INFORMACIÓN

Colombia

PERIODISTA ASESINADO

Peru

SEMINAR TACKLES ACCESS TO INFORMATION

ARTICLE 19 and the Paraguay Union of Journalists (Sindicato de Periodistas Paraguay, SPP) will be participating in a seminar this month in Peru that will highlight the need for progressive access to information laws in Latin America. Convened by the Peruvian Press Council (Consejo de la Prensa Peruana, CPP), "Access to State Information: New Challenges for Freedom of Expression on the Continent" will take place 23-24 April in Arequipa. It will raise awareness about the right to freely access information and the challenges to overcoming government secrecy.

Colombia

JOURNALIST MURDERED

The body of journalist Juan Carlos Gomez Diaz has been discovered in Aguachica, northeast Colombia, two days after the 23 year old was abducted by unknown assailants, report the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS) and the Inter American Press Association (IAPA). Gomez Diaz, a radio announcer and programme assistant at La Voz de Aguachica, disappeared on the night of 1 April after visiting a friend. His body, which bore signs of torture, was found in the Magdalena River.

Colombia

LE CHEF DES PARAMILITAIRES SUBIT UN PROCÈS POUR LE MEURTRE D?UN JOURNALISTE

Colombia

LÍDER PARAMILITAR ENJUICIADO POR ASESINATO DE PERIODISTA

Colombia

PARAMILITARY LEADER ON TRIAL FOR JOURNALIST'S MURDER

More than two years after the murder of Colombian journalist Jaime Garzon, the government has decided to press charges against paramilitary leader Carlos Castaño and two other alleged killers. The Attorney General's Office (AGO) believes it has found sufficient evidence to convict Castaño, Juan Pablo Ortiz Agudelo and Edilberto Antonio Sierra Ayala although it says that it will continue to investigate other leads as the case develops, reports the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS). Castaño is the leader of the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, AUC); forces under his command have murdered at least four journalists since 1999, says the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Colombia

L?IMPUNITÉ SÉVIT DANS LES ASSASSINATS DE JOURNALISTES

Colombia

IMPUNIDAD IMPERA EN MUERTES DE PERIODISTAS

Colombia

IMPUNITY REINS OVER JOURNALISTS' DEATHS

The Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS) has released a report calling Colombia's justice system "ineffective and impotent," following a joint investigation with Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières) into press conditions in the war-torn country during 2001. The report finds that of the 12 journalists murdered last year, at least three were linked to the victims' investigative activities. IPYS notes with concern that the possibility of investigating these crimes and bringing their perpetrators to justice continues to be remote. In the last ten years, close to 40 journalists have been killed in the course of their duties; almost none of the murders has resulted in convictions, says IPYS.

Colombia

OTROS DOS PERIODISTAS ASESINADOS

Colombia

ENCORE DEUX JOURNALISTES ASSASSINÉS

Colombia

TWO MORE JOURNALISTS MURDERED

The ongoing violence in Colombia has claimed the lives of two more journalists in the past 10 days. On 23 January, Marco Antonio Ayala Cárdenas, a photographer for the daily "El Caleño", was gunned down outside the newspaper's offices by two individuals who were riding a motorcycle, say Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS) and Reporters sans frontières (RSF). IPYS says six shots were fired at Ayala Cárdenas' head. He was brought to a nearby hospital but pronounced dead on arrival.

Colombia

WAN CELEBRARÁ CONFERENCIA DE "MEDIOS EN PELIGRO"

Colombia

L?AMJ TIENDRA UNE CONFÉRENCE SUR LE THÈME ?LES MÉDIAS EN DANGER?

Colombia

WAN TO HOST CONFERENCE ON MEDIA IN DANGER

Drawing international attention to Colombia, "the most dangerous country in the world" for journalists, will be the goal of a World Association of Newspapers-organised conference in March on violence against the media. "Media in Danger," co-hosted with the Inter American Press Association and the Colombian newspaper association Andiarios, will be held in Bogota from 21-23 March.

Argentina

LE PARLEMENT EST PRIÉ INSTAMMENT D?ADOPTER UNE LOI DE PROTECTION DES MÉDIAS

Argentina

INSTAN A PARLAMENTO A APROBAR PROYECTO DE LEY DE PROTECCIÓN A MEDIOS

Bolivia

IAPA DELEGATION TO FOCUS ATTENTION ON BOLIVIA

Free expression and press freedom will be the focus of attention in Bolivia next week when a high-profile delegation arranged by Inter American Press Association (IAPA) travels to the South American country.

Argentina

PARLIAMENT URGED TO PASS MEDIA PROTECTION BILL

Argentina could become the first country in Latin America to decriminalise press-law violations if a bill before the parliament is approved, reports PERIODISTAS and Reporters sans frontières (RSF). If passed, the bill, originally proposed by PERIODISTAS, would protect journalists from criminal proceedings if an article they wrote or distributed was found to be inaccurate or false. Instead of being tried in criminal courts, cases of press law violations would be subject to civil proceedings, according to RSF.

Peru

JOURNALIST RELEASED AFTER EIGHT YEARS

Authorities in Peru have released Pedro Carranza Ugaz, a journalist who was jailed for over eight years for allegedly collaborating with terrorists, reports the Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN (WiPC). Carranza Ugaz, a journalist for Radio Oriental and "El Tarapotino" magazine, was pardoned after the Ministry of Justice's National Human Rights Council reviewed his case.

Colombia

UN JOURNALISTE EST ASSASSINÉ; LA VIOLENCE CONTRE LA PRESSE PREND DE L?AMPLEUR

Colombia

PERIODISTA ASESINADO; EMPEORA VIOLENCIA CONTRA PRENSA

Colombia

JOURNALIST MURDERED; VIOLENCE AGAINST THE PRESS WORSENS

On 23 December 2001, Alvaro Alonso Escobar, proprietor of the Colombian newspaper "Region", was shot and killed by an unknown assailant in his home in Fundacion, Colombia, report the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) and the Inter American Press Association (IAPA). According to FLIP, an unidentified man arrived at Escobar's house in the evening and an argument ensued. Escobar was shot three times, after which the assailant fled on motorcycle. The chief of the Magdalena Police Department, Luis Mesa, told an IAPA source that Escobar's murder "was for personal reasons" and said he was not aware of any threats that had been made against the journalist.

Colombia

MISIÓN INVESTIGADORA ENCUENTRA QUE MEDIOS DE DEPARTAMENTOS ESTÁN EN PELIGRO

Paraguay

DESOLADORA PERSPECTIVA PARA LIBERTAD DE PRENSA, DICE SPP

Paraguay

DES PERSPECTIVES PEU RELUISANTES POUR LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE, DIT LE SPP

Paraguay

OUTLOOK BLEAK FOR PRESS FREEDOM, SAYS SPP

The outlook for press freedom in Paraguay continues to be bleak, with many "dangerous storm clouds on the horizon," predicts Sindicato de Periodistas de Paraguay (SPP). The organisation has released its annual report, documenting the state of free expression in Paraguay during 2001.

Colombia

DE VIOLENCIA CONTRA MEDIOS DE COMUNICACIÓN

Colombia

EST SURTOUT IMPUTABLE À UN GROUPE PARAMILITAIRE

Colombia

PARAMILITARY GROUP BLAMED FOR VIOLENCE AGAINST MEDIA

In Colombia, "violent acts against the media are perpetrated primarily by armed groups, and, above all, [by] the paramilitary United Self-Defence of Colombia (AUC)," concludes a report recently issued by the Institute for Press and Society (IPYS) and Reporters sans frontières (RSF).

Venezuela

CHÁVEZ "AMORDAZA LA VOZ" DE LOS MEDIOS CRÍTICOS, DICE EL IPI

Venezuela

CHÁVEZ ?ÉTOUFFE LA VOIX? DES MÉDIAS CRITIQUES, DIT LE CPJ

Venezuela

CHÁVEZ "MUZZLES THE VOICE" OF CRITICAL MEDIA, SAYS IPI

In what the International Press Institute (IPI) says is an attempt to "muzzle the voice" of media critical of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, the state-run National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) is continuing its investigation of private news channel Globovision for reporting "false" news. According to IPI, Globovision issued a correction on 29 September for wrongly reporting that nine taxi drivers were attacked and killed the previous night by criminals. In fact, only one had been killed.

Peru

PERIODISTA LIBERADO DESPUÉS DE OCHO AÑOS Y MEDIO DE CÁRCEL

Peru

UN JOURNALISTE EST LIBÉRÉ APRÈS HUIT ANS ET DEMI DE PRISON

Peru

JOURNALIST FREED AFTER 8 ½ YEAR JAIL TERM

Journalist and professor Antero Gargurevich Oliva was released from prison on 5 October after serving eight and half years, reports the Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN (WiPC). Oliva was originally sentenced to 12 years in prison for having alleged links to the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) guerrilla group. According to WiPC, the only evidence produced in court to prove Oliva's links were a number of Shining Path documents and some Marxist literature given to him by several of his students. Oliva had been doing studies on violence in Peru. According to the National Association of Journalists, Peru, a colleague of Oliva's at the Technical University of Callao fingered him after being subjected to torture by the police.

Argentina

"GRAN PASO HACIA ATRÁS PARA LIBERTAD DE PRENSA," DICEN PERIODISTAS Y CPJ

Argentina

?LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE SUBIT UN IMPORTANT RECUL?, RAPPORTENT PERIODISTAS ET LE

Argentina

"BIG STEP BACKWARD FOR PRESS FREEDOM," SAY PERIODISTAS, CPJ

According to the Argentinean Association for the Protection of Independent Journalism (PERIODISTAS) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), press freedom in Argentina took a major step backward last week when the Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling which penalized weekly news magazine "Noticias" for violation of privacy.

Chile

: SUPREMA CORTE SE REHÚSA A LEVANTAR PROHIBICIÓN A LIBRO

Ecuador

POLICÍA INVESTIGARÁ ASESINATO DE PERIODISTA DE TV

Chile

LA COUR SUPRÊME REFUSE DE LEVER L'INTERDIT QUI FRAPPE UN LIVRE

Ecuador

LA POLICE ENQUÊTE SUR LE MEURTRE D'UN JOURNALISTE

Chile

SUPREME COURT REFUSES TO LIFT BAN ON BOOK

The Supreme Court has quashed an appeal by journalist Alejandra Matus to have a court-ordered ban on her book, “The Black Book of Chilean Justice”, lifted, writes the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Matus’ book, an investigative exposé about the Chilean judicial system, has been banned for over two years. “The Supreme Court’s August 23 decision certainly casts a shadow over the recent repeal of some of Chile’s most notorious and restrictive press provisions,” said CPJ.

Paraguay

CÁMARA DE DIPUTADOS SUPRIME LEY DE TRANSPARENCIA

Paraguay

LA CHAMBRE DES DÉPUTÉS REJETTE LA LOI SUR LA TRANSPARENCE ADMINISTRATIVE

Paraguay

ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSPARENCY LAW REJECTED BY CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES

The newly-passed Law on Administrative Transparency 1.728 that threatened access to information about public institutions was repealed on 16 August by the Chamber of Deputies, according to the Sindicato de Periodistas del Paraguay (SPP). SPP, as well as several civil society and constitutional analysis organisations, protested the law, believing that it was a way to institutionalise impunity and put a stamp of approval on the path toward corruption and governmental non-transparency. Nevertheless, the document is going back to the Senate for consideration. Previously, the Senate did not support Law 1.728's repeal, but only requested that a few articles be modified. The recommended modifications did not significantly diminish the law's threat to freedom of expression, according to SPP.

Brazil

LA VEILLE DU JOUR OÙ IL DEVAIT TÉMOIGNER DANS UN PROCÈS EN DIFFAMATION

Brazil

PERIODISTA ASESINADO UN DÍA ANTES DE TESTIFICAR EN JUICIO POR DIFAMACIÓN

Brazil

JOURNALIST KILLED A DAY BEFORE TESTIFYING IN DEFAMATION TRIAL

Mário Coelho de Almeida Filho, director of the newspaper "A Verdade" in Magé, 50 km from the city of Rio de Janeiro, was murdered on 16 August, according to Reporters sans frontières (RSF) and the Inter American Press Association (IAPA). The journalist was shot four times as he was returning to his home in Magé, says RSF, which adds that police believe the killing was the work of a hired assassin.

Bolivia

MIEMBROS DEL EJERCITO IMPLICADOS EN MUERTE DE PERIODISTA DE TELEVISIÓN

Bolivia

DANS LA MORT D?UN JOURNALISTE DE LA TÉLÉVISION

Bolivia

MEMBERS OF ARMED FORCES IMPLICATED IN TV JOURNALIST'S DEATH

Juan Carlos Encinas, a reporter with the Bolivian television news programme "Enlance" on Canal 21, was killed on 29 July, according to Reporters sans frontières (RSF). The journalist was covering the conflict between two rival organisations for the control of a mining cooperative, la Cooperativa Multiactiva Catavi Ltda, in El Alto, 19 km from La Paz. Encinas was at the mine when one of the organisations surrounded the site and fired a number of shots. The journalist was wounded in the groin, but could not be evacuated since the attackers refused to allow those injured to leave. He died several hours later. RSF reports that two air force sergeants, Renato Limache Ticona and Humberto Quisbert Limache, are suspected of providing weapons to the attackers. Witnesses reportedly saw the two at the site of the incident. Limache Ticona is also suspected of having shot directly at the journalist.

Paraguay

NUEVA LEY DE "TRANSPARENCIA" AMENAZA ACCESO A INFORMACIÓN

Paraguay

LA NOUVELLE LOI SUR LA "TRANSPARENCE" MENACE L?ACCÈS À L?INFORMATION

Paraguay

NEW "TRANSPARENCY" LAW THREATENS INFORMATION ACCESS

Paraguay's new "administrative transparency" law threatens access to information about public institutions, according to the Paraguay Union of Journalists (SPP) and the Inter American Press Association (IAPA). The Law on Administrative Transparency No. 1,728 was signed into law by Paraguayan President Luis González Macchi on 16 July. It contains a number of clauses restricting access to official information, including that relating to the conduct and assets of public officials, investigations into allegations of corruption and the awarding of public contracts, according to IAPA. SPP says the new measure "severely impedes the possibility of knowing what is occurring inside the public administration and places an indirect gag on journalists, particularly investigative journalists, because it grants public officials a legal pretext for delaying or refusing to provide documents on the management of their affairs." SPP has presented its concerns about the law to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Organization of American States (OAS) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression.

Chile

JUEZ DESEA INTERROGAR A KISSINGER ACERCA DE PERIODISTA "DESAPARECIDO"

Chile

RETOUR AU PAYS D'UNE JOURNALISTE; LA PROJECTION D'UN FILM EST SUSPENDUE; UN JUGE VEUT INTERROGER HENRY KISSINGER

Chile

JOURNALIST RETURNS HOME; FILM SCREENING SUSPENDED; JUDGE WANTS TO QUESTION KISSINGER ABOUT "MISSING" JOURNALIST

Journalist Alejandra Matus returned to Chile on 14 July 2001 after more than two years in exile, reports Legal Training for Action (FORJA). "Today is an important day for journalists and for press freedom in Chile," the journalist stated after her arrival.

Colombia

CONTEO DE PERIODISTAS MUERTOS CRECE CON OTROS TRES ASESINATOS

Colombia

TROIS AUTRES JOURNALISTES SONT TUÉS

Colombia

JOURNALISTS' DEATH TOLL GROWS WITH THREE MORE MURDERS

Three more Colombian journalists were murdered in the last week, according to reports from the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), the Institute for Press and Society (IPYS), the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) and Reporters sans frontières (RSF).

Colombia

ASESINAN A PERIODISTA DE RADIO

Colombia

UN REPORTER DE LA RADIO EST ASSASSINÉ

Colombia

RADIO REPORTER KILLED

Radio reporter Pablo Emilio Parra Castañeda has been shot and killed in central Tolima Department, report the Institute for Press and Society (IPYS) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Tolima municipal authorities told IPYS that they found the journalist's body, with two shots to the head, on the side of a road on 27 June.

Colombia

CUARTO PERIODISTA ASESINADO EN LAS ÚLTIMAS TRES SEMANAS; OTROS AMENAZADOS

Colombia

UN QUATRIÈME JOURNALISTE EST ASSASSINÉ EN TROIS SEMAINES; D?AUTRES SONT MENACÉS

Colombia

FOURTH JOURNALIST KILLED IN LAST THREE WEEKS; OTHERS THREATENED

The body of radio journalist Edgar Tavera Gaona was found on 18 May in San Lorenzo in the municipality of Güepsa (Santander), reports the Human Rights section for Latin America of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). The National Police say the journalist was reportedly killed by members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) as a result of his recent articles on the guerilla group's actions in the region. The 38 year-old journalist worked for a community radio station in Güepsa, notes IFJ. Gaona is the fourth journalist killed in Colombia since 27 April [See IFEX "Communique" #10-18 and #10-17.]">http://communique.ifex.org/articles.cfm?category=1%20Regional%20News&volume=10&issue_no=18&lng=english#3106">"Communique" #10-18 and #10-17.]

Colombia

SEMANARIO IZQUIERDISTA ES BLANCO DE OTRO ATAQUE; DESACTIVAN COCHE BOMBA

Colombia

UN HEBDOMADAIRE DE GAUCHE EST DE NOUVEAU CIBLÉ; UNE VOITURE PIÉGÉE EST DÉSAMORCÉ

Colombia

LEFTIST WEEKLY TARGETED AGAIN; CAR BOMB DEFUSED

Police defused a car bomb outside the office of the Communist Party newspaper "Voz" in Bogota on 21 May, report the Institute for Press and Society, the Human Rights section for Latin America of the International Federation of Journalists, Reporters sans frontières, and the Committee to Protect Journalists. The four organisations say that the 250-kilogram "cluster" bomb was packed into a pick-up truck in downtown Bogota. Carlos Lozano, editor of "Voz", blames the bomb plot on unspecified paramilitary groups, says CPJ. Last month, Lozano was named to a four-person commission set up to monitor official efforts to curb paramilitary attacks around the country. This particular cluster bomb is commercially manufactured in the United States to American military specifications and sold throughout the world, reports CPJ.

Chile

REVOCAN ESTATUTO USADO CONTRA MATUS

Chile

ABOLITION DE LA LOI QUI AVAIT ÉTÉ UTILISÉE CONTRE LA JOURNALISTE MATUS

Chile

STATUTE USED AGAINST MATUS REPEALED

A new press law, approved by the Chilean Senate on 18 April, repeals several provisions of the country's State Security Law, including one (Article 6b) that makes it a crime against public order to insult high officials, report Legal Training for Action (FORJA), the Argentinian Association for the Defence of Independent Journalism (PERIODISTAS) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Colombia

DEUX AUTRES JOURNALISTES SONT ASSASSINÉS

Colombia

OTROS DOS PERIODISTAS ASESINADOS

Colombia

TWO MORE JOURNALISTS KILLED

Two more journalists have been killed in Colombia, bringing the total number of killings to three in a single week. Carlos Alberto Trespalacios, communications director for the Medellín Municipality Sports and Recreation Institute, was assassinated on 30 April in Medellín, reports the Human Rights section for Latin America of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Meanwhile, Yesid Marulanda Romero, a 31 year-old journalist with Notípacifico TV News, was murdered on 3 May, World Press Freedom Day, according to IFJ and the Institute for Press and Society (IPYS). Marulanda, a sports commentator, was shot by three armed men in Cali, says IPYS.

Peru

INDULTAN A PERIODISTA Y LO LIBERAN DESPUÉS DE NUEVE AÑOS DE CÁRCEL

Peru

UN JOURNALISTE REÇOIT UN PARDON ET EST LIBÉRÉ APRÈS NEUF ANS DE PRISON

Peru

JOURNALIST PARDONED AND RELEASED AFTER NINE YEARS IN PRISON

Nearly nine years after being arrested on charges of "terrorism," journalist Hermes Rivera Guerrero has been pardoned and released, report the Human Rights section for Latin America of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Institute for Press and Society (IPYS) and the Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN (WiPC). Rivera, who had always maintained his innocence, was pardoned on 11 April and released from Picsi prison five days later, reports WiPC. He had been in jail since 8 May 1992, serving a twenty year sentence, adds IFJ.

Chile

AVANCES FRUSTRADOS EN LIBERTAD DE EXPRESIÓN, DICE HRW

Chile

LE PROGRÈS DE LA LIBERTÉ D?EXPRESSION EST BLOQUÉ, DIT HRW

Chile

PROGRESS ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION STALLED, SAYS HRW

Despite progress in prosecuting the abuses of Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship, Chile's record on freedom of expression has improved little since the end of military rule more than a decade ago, says Human Rights Watch (HRW). In a new report, entitled "Progress Stalled: Setbacks in Freedom of Expression Reform in Chile", HRW calls for a repeal of the State Security Law provisions that criminalise speech and for other much-needed free expression reforms.

Venezuela

PRESIDENTE DE LA REPÚBLICA VUELVE A AGREDIR VERBALMENTE A PERIODISTAS

Venezuela

LE PRÉSIDENT S?EN PREND DE NOUVEAU AUX MÉDIAS VERBALEMENT

Venezuela

PRESIDENT VERBALLY ATTACKS MEDIA AGAIN

President Hugo Chávez Frías denounced journalists during events celebrating the ninth anniversary of the coup-d'etat carried out by middle-ranking military officers in February 1992, according to the Institute for Press and Society (IPYS). "Down with journalists and capitalism," proclaimed the president, who also urged those present to "yell orders" at any journalist they see on the street. The incident is one of a long list of presidential attacks and intimidations against the media, says IPYS.

Brazil

RSF DENUNCIA "CULTURA DE IMPUNIDAD" EN EL ESTADO DE BAHÍA

Brazil

RSF DÉNONCE LA "CULTURE DE L'IMPUNITÉ" QUI RÈGNE DANS L'ÉTAT DE BAHIA

Brazil

RSF DENOUNCES "CULTURE OF IMPUNITY" IN STATE OF BAHIA

A "cultural of impunity" reigns in the Brazilian state of Bahia, where ten journalists were killed during the "dark decade" of the 1990s, says Reporters sans frontières (RSF). The majority of these acts were linked to journalists' revelations of corruption, drug trafficking, or murders involving political figures or the police. In none of the ten cases have those responsible been brought to justice. RSF adds that the subject remains a sensitive one. In April 2000, the newspaper "A Tarde", based in Bahia's capital Salvador, published a report on the ten assassinations. The journalist conducting the investigation, Marconi de Souza, received death threats on several occasions. While there has yet to be a trial in these ten cases, the justice system did re-open three cases following the revelations in "A Tarde".

Chile

SIP BUSCA REVOCACIÓN DE LEYES DE INJURIA

Chile

LA SIP TENTE D?OBTENIR L?ABOLITION DES LOIS SUR LES INSULTES

Chile

MATUS' CONVICTION UPHELD, IAPA SEEKS REPEAL OF INSULT LAWS

A Chilean court has upheld journalist Alejandra Matus' conviction on contempt charges, according to the Inter American Press Association (IAPA). In a letter to President Ricardo Lagos, IAPA reiterates its calls for the country to repeal its insult laws, which state that contempt ("desacato") is a criminal offence. Matus is the author of the banned book "El Libro Negro de la Justicia Chilena" (The Black Book of Chilean Justice), which denounced the judiciary's corruption, nepotism, and abuses of power. She is now living in exile in Miami, Florida. On 19 December, a Chilean judge temporarily halted legal proceedings in the case, thus upholding an order for Matus' arrest issued in November. According to IAPA, with no further recourse to appeal, she may not return to her homeland until a statute of limitations expires in 13 years' time.

Colombia

DE LA MISMA ESTACIÓN, AUC VINCULADAS AL ASESINATO DE GARZÓN

Colombia

DEUX JOURNALISTES D?UNE MÊME STATION SONT ASSASSINÉS; LES AUC SONT RELIÉES AU ME

Colombia

TWO JOURNALISTS FROM SAME STATION MURDERED, AUC LINKED TO GARZÓN?S MURDER

On 13 December, Alfredo Abad Lopez, director of the radio station Voz de la Selva (Voice of the Jungle) in the southern city of Florencia, was shot and killed, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and Reporters sans frontières (RSF). Abad was shot at point-blank range by two men on a motorcycle, state the reports. While the motive for the assassination and the identity of the attackers remain unclear, CPJ reports that a confidential source familiar with Florencia's militant groups said Abad appeared to have been murdered by paramilitary gunmen after he began investigating the recent death of one of his colleagues.

Peru

D?UN JOURNALISTE EST CONSIDÉRÉ COMME UNE VICTOIRE DE LA LIBERTÉ D?EXPRESSION

Peru

RETORNO DE PERIODISTA EXILIADO SE VE COMO VICTORIA DE LIBRE EXPRESIÓN

Peru

EXILED JOURNALIST'S RETURN SEEN AS FREE EXPRESSION VICTORY

The return of media tycoon Baruch Ivcher to Peru from exile "marks the end of a notorious human rights case and highlights the sea of change in Peru's political climate since the collapse of the old order last month," reports the "Financial Times". Ivcher's Peruvian citizenship was renounced and his television station, Frecuencia Latina, closed in 1997 for "criticising the government," says the "Financial Times". Prior to this, Ivcher had "exposed cases of murder, torture and phone-tapping allegedly carried out by the secret services under Vladimiro Montesinos, the former spy chief." Stripped of his citizenship, he was unable to own a TV station and was offered $19 million by government authorities if he would let them "set" the station's "news agenda." He also had a warrant out for his arrest for allegedly evading taxes. An emergency court, however, recently annulled these arrest warrants, enabling for Ivcher to return without threat.

Colombia

LES PARAMILITAIRES SONT IMPLIQUÉS DANS DES MEURTRES DE JOURNALISTES

Colombia

PARAMILITARES IMPLICADOS EN ASESINATOS DE PERIODISTAS

Colombia

PARAMILITARIES IMPLICATED IN JOURNALISTS' MURDERS

On 15 November, radio correspondent Gustavo Rafael Ruiz Cantillo was shot by two men in Pivijay, northern Colombia, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and Reporters sans frontières (RSF). While police state that they are still investigating the identity of the attackers, the journalist's former colleagues at Radio Galeon allege that Ruiz was killed by members of a right-wing paramilitary group that operates in the region. The sources add that the group is "not linked to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a nationwide alliance of right-wing groups, but was rather a gang of hired gunmen financed by the rich people in the area." Ruiz, who received threats by the armed group twice, was warned by them to "stop reporting bad news about Pivijay and to give up that big mouth's job." IAPA states that while it is gravely concerned with the situation of violence in Colombia in general, its concern is even greater in the case of a murdered journalist because such an act silences the right and ability of citizens to be informed.

Colombia

PRESENTAN PROGRAMA DE PROTECCIÓN A PERIODISTA

Colombia

LANCEMENT D?UN PROGRAMME DE PROTECTION DES JOURNALISTES

Colombia

JOURNALIST PROTECTION PROGRAMME INTRODUCED

While the Colombian government has taken some recent steps towards greater freedom of expression in Colombia, it fails to take action on a number of cases of attacks against journalists, says the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). On 18 August, under Decree 1592, the Colombian government announced its establishment of a journalist protection programme. The Program for the Protection of Journalists and Social Communicators aims to protect the rights of Colombians to be informed truthfully by addressing the threats that face both journalists and organisations that protect journalists, reports the International Journalists Network (IJNet). Additionally, in a 28 June letter addressed to CPJ, President Pastrana emphasised his commitment "to strengthen the actions [the government] has taken in defense of freedom of expression."

Paraguay

VIOLENCIA LUEGO DE PROCESO ELECTORAL

Paraguay

LES ÉLECTIONS SONT ENTACHÉES DE VIOLENCE

Paraguay

ELECTIONS MET WITH VIOLENCE

The Sindicato de Periodistas del Paraguay (SPP) warns that Paraguayans may again be facing "the danger of increased political violence and a risk of losing fundamental freedoms and rights," as they did under the Stroessner dictatorship and under General Oviedo. A surge of press freedom violations and violence in the wake of the 13 August vice-presidential elections signal "a renewed deterioration of the national climate," says SPP. A number of journalists and media outlets have reported intimidation, threats and censorship during the electoral process. Incomplete counts by the country's electoral commission indicate that the opposition candidate Julio César Franco has won the election, says SPP.

Peru

DES JOURNALISTES ET DES MANIFESTANTS SONT BLESSÉS

Peru

MEDIA COVERAGE OF PROTESTS RESTRICTED, JOURNALISTS AND DEMONSTRATORS INJURED

A number of demonstrators protesting the swearing-in of President Alberto Fujimori, as well as local and foreign journalists covering the event, were injured in a clash between protesters and police on 28 July, report the Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). The journalists also had some equipment seized by police, says IFJ. The protests were organised by opposition leader Alejandro Toledo to contest the controversial May elections which saw President Alberto Fujimori elected to a third term in office. Toledo boycotted the May 28 election and has accused Fujimori of electoral fraud. It is estimated that around 80,000 demonstrators attended the protests.

Peru

PERIODISTA RADIOFÓNICO ASESINADO

Colombia

PERIODISTA DE TELEVISIÓN ASESINADA

Peru

ASSASSINAT D?UN JOURNALISTE DE LA RADIO

Colombia

UNE JOURNALISTE DE LA TÉLÉVISION EST ASSASSINÉE

Colombia

TELEVISION JOURNALIST MURDERED

Journalist Marisol Revelo Baron was assassinated on 4 July on the doorstep of her home in Tumaco, in the southwestern department of Nariño, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Press Institute (IPI) and the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA). Local sources say that on the evening of 4 July, two gunmen on a motorcycle stopped in front of Revelo's house. When Revelo came to the door, the attacker fired five shots, killing her instantly.

Peru

RADIO JOURNALIST KILLED

Journalist Luis Baltazar Caviedes Nuñez de la Torre was killed in suspicious circumstances, according to a press release from the National Association of Peruvian Journalists (ANP) distributed by the Human Rights section for Latin America of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). The journalist was found unconscious on 2 July on the banks of the Chuyapi river, suffering from bruises and injuries to the right side of his head and right eye, and was taken to the Quillabamba hospital by the police. He was the founder of ANP's Quillabamba branch in Cuzco and worked for the Sur Oriente and Frecuencia Integral radio stations.

Peru

PERIODISTAS Y MANIFESTAN LESIONADOS

Paraguay

ESTADO DE EMERGENCIA NO DEBERÁ LIMITAR LIBERTAD DE PRENSA

Colombia

PERIODISTAS SE ENFRENTAN A ASESINATO, EXILIO Y AMENAZAS CONSTANTES

Paraguay

L?ÉTAT D?URGENCE NE DEVRAIT PAS ENTRAVER LA LIBERTÉ DE LA PRESSE

Colombia

À L?EXIL ET À D?AUTRES MENACES CONSTANTES

Paraguay

STATE OF EMERGENCY SHOULD NOT LIMIT PRESS FREEDOM

The State of Emergency declared 19 May in the wake of an attempted coup by former General Lino Oviedo should not limit freedom of expression in any way, urge the Sindicato de Periodistas del Paraguay (SPP) and Reporters sans frontières (RSF). While SPP condemns the recently attempted coup, it firmly maintains that "neither such risks nor any other reason of force can justify restricting freedom of expression." Following the emergency declaration, 2 radio stations were closed and 3 media workers were arrested, reports RSF. Some of the media workers that were targeted were accused of being Oviedo supporters. Regardless of political affiliation or ethical journalistic practices, however, SPP maintains "that there are no common press felonies - except those which are committed against the press - and that no one can be convicted for their opinions or restricted in the exercise of free expression."

Colombia

JOURNALISTS FACE MURDER, EXILE AND ONGOING THREATS

Attacks on journalists continue to intensify in Colombia and international journalist associations should "create a permanent observatory to monitor press freedom violations" in the country, urged exiled Colombian journalist Francisco Santos Calderon at the opening ceremonies of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) Annual Meetings in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. With seven journalists killed last year and four journalists already murdered in the year 2000 in Colombia, "Colombia needs this solidarity and action.... before it is too late," said Santos. A peace activist and editor of "El Tiempo", Santos went into exile earlier this year after learning of a plot to murder him, reports WAN. An international observatory to monitor violations against the media will be effective because "those who attack journalists are sensitive to international repercussions from their actions," noted Santos. The observatory would have a permanent office in Colombia and would investigate each violation, asserted Santos.

Peru

UNE ENTREPRISE DE PRESSE DOIT AFFRONTER DES AGRESSIONS

Peru

MEDIOS SE ENFRENTAN A ATAQUES EN PROCESO ELECTORAL VICIADO

Peru

MEDIA FACES ATTACKS IN MARRED ELECTORAL PROCESS

The media in Peru were under attack during the recent run-off elections in Peru, which were widely condemned as unfair. On 24 May, journalist Fabián Salazar Olivares of "La República" was held and tortured by alleged agents of the National Intelligence Service (Servicio de Inteligencia Nacional, SIN) for possessing a number of documents and videotapes which implicate and jeopardise a number of high-ranking government and electoral officials, report the Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters sans frontières (RSF). Salazar was tortured when he refused to disclose from whom he had obtained the information, says IPYS.

Peru

MEDIOS PENALIZADOS EN VIRTUD DE LEY ELECTORAL

Peru

LA LOI ÉLECTORALE PÉNALISE LES MÉDIAS

Peru

MEDIA PENALISED UNDER ELECTORAL LAW

The National Elections Board will impose a fine of approximately US$84,000 on the independent television station, Canal N, for its "inadvertent" broadcasting of the election polls on 5 April, report the Institute for Press and Society (IPYS) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). According to IPYS, the Board alleges that the station violated Article 191 of Peruvian electoral law which "prohibits media from disseminating information about voter preferences" less than 15 days before the election. The elections took place on 9 April. Not only is this fine outrageous, says CPJ, but Article 191 itself "inhibits the full exercise of press freedom." The poll information was announced by a participant in a forum that the station broadcast live, even though organisers instructed participants not to reveal these statistics. Both groups note that Canal N, which has been openly critical of the government in the past, is receiving a much heavier fine than other broadcasters who have committed similar infractions in the past. According to IPYS, Canal N provided balanced coverage of the electoral process in the lead up to the elections, playing a critically important role in the democratic process.

Peru

LE PARTI PRIS DES MÉDIAS ENTACHE LE PROCESSUS ÉLECTORAL

Peru

TENDENCIAS DE LOS MEDIOS ARRUINAN PROCESO ELECTORAL

Peru

MEDIA BIASES MAR ELECTORAL PROCESS

Observers of the pre-election period in Peru denounced the media's lack of objectivity in a recent report, stating that the biases have "muddied" the country's electoral campaign, says the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). The country's general elections are scheduled to take place on 9 April. The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (Instituto Democrático Nacional para Asuntos Internacionales, NDI) and the Carter Center, an independent non-governmental organisation, which collaboratively prepared the report, state that many media groups "openly demonstrate their bias against, and hostility toward, opposition candidates and electoral observers." According to the monitors, a number of opposition candidates have been refused "paid publicity slots on widely broadcast stations." The Legal Defence Institute (Instituto de Defensa Legal, IDL) has also issued an "Alert" concerned with the fact that President Fujimori, who is seeking re-election, has controlled the country's most popular television stations "without needing to resort to legislation, expropriation, deportations or detentions."

Colombia

ASSASSINAT DU DIRECTEUR D?UNE RADIO COMMUNAUTAIRE; AUTRES NOUVELLES

Colombia

ASESINAN A UN PERIODISTA; OTRAS NOTICIAS

Colombia

MEDIA WORKER MURDERED

On 9 February, media worker Antonio Gómez Gómez was shot and killed by unknown assailants, reports the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters sans frontières (RSF). Gómez was at home with his family when five men wearing hoods entered and killed him, reports RSF. Gómez was the owner of the radio station Echos of the Sierra (Ecos de la Sierra), in Palmor, municipality of Ciénaga-Magdalena, in the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta and head of a cable televisionservice in the region. Gómez used his radio station to promote community action campaigns.

Argentina

SE ENVÍAN PROPUESTAS PARA DESPENALIZAR LA DIFAMACIÓN

Argentina

LE TRIBUNAL PORTE UN COUP À L?IMPUNITÉ

Argentina

PROPOSALS FORWARDED TO DECRIMINALISE DEFAMATION

The recent Argentinian court decision to sentence eight individuals to life imprisonment for the murder of photojournalist Jose Luis Cabezas marks a victory for freedom of expression and a blow to impunity throughout the Americas, says the Inter American Press Association (IAPA). IAPA president Tony Pederson says that "it weighs on us to know the verdict will not bring Cabezas back to life, however it has established an important precedent in the Americas and sends the message that impunity can be overcome." Cabezas was murdered on 25 January 1997. IAPA states that the verdict must serve to further fuel the fight for the "guarantees and respect for journalists' safety, an end to terrorising the press, the disappearance of assassins, the burial of impunity and the prevailing of press freedom."

Brazil

LE TRIBUNAL ORDONNE LA FERMETURE DE 2 000 STATIONS DE RADIO

Brazil

TRIBUNAL ORDENA CIERRE DE 2,000 ESTACIONES DE RADIO

Brazil

COURT ORDERS CLOSURE OF 2,000 RADIO STATIONS

In early January, federal Judge Jose Marcos Lunadelli ordered that 2,000 community radio stations in Sao Paulo state must close by 6 February, reports the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC). The decision constitutes "one of the worst infractions against freedom of expression in Brazil," say local representatives of the community radio stations. Several days after the initial decision, the same judge also announced that any stations that ignored the order would have to pay US$ 2,500 for each day that they continued broadcasting.

Paraguay

PERIODISTAS SE ENFRENTARON A REPRESIÓN CONTINUA EN 1999

Paraguay

LA RÉPRESSION DES JOURNALISTES S?EST POURSUIVIE EN 1999

Paraguay

JOURNALISTS FACED ONGOING REPRESSION IN 1999

Journalists faced considerable repression in carrying out their work last year, says the Sindicato de Periodistas del Paraguay (Paraguay Union of Journalists, SPP) in its survey of freedom of expression in Paraguay in 1999. Members of the press suffered various forms of abuses and aggression while attempting to cover the country's political upheavals and developments in 1999. SPP states that these abuses were present throughout both the current president Gonzalez Macchi's rule as well as the former president's, Raul Cubas Grau, government. In 1999, after eight years of no arrests, several journalists were arrested as a result of their professional work, reports SPP. Journalists were also harassed and received death threats for carrying out their work. Some of the threats resulted from journalists coverage of government corruption and the assassination of the former vice-president.

Argentina

GOBIERNO ACUERDA DEROGAR LEY DE DIFAMACIÓN PENAL

Argentina

LE GOUVERNEMENT ACCEPTE D?ABROGER LA LOI PÉNALE SUR LA DIFFAMATION

Argentina

GOVERNMENT AGREES TO REPEAL CRIMINAL DEFAMATION LAW

The Argentine government has agreed with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) recommendation that it should repeal its criminal defamation law, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). This move will make Argentina the first nation in Latin American where journalists can not be charged or jailed for criticising public officials, states CPJ. "This will affirm the press freedom that Argentine journalists have been using for the last two decades to investigate the government and denounce corruption," says Argentine journalist and PERIODISTAS vice-president Horacio Verbitsky. Verbitsky, who was often a target of former President Carlos Menem's government because of his investigative reporting, argued for the repeal of this law before the IACHR in Washington in the United States, on 1 October.

Colombia

DEUX EMPLOYÉS DES MÉDIAS SONT ASSASSINÉS

Colombia

ASESINAN A DOS TRABAJADORES DE MEDIOS

Colombia

TWO MEDIA WORKERS MURDERED

On 28 November, media workers Luis Alberto Rincon and Alberto Sánchez Tovar were assassinated five kilometers outside of El Playon in the department of Santander in Colombia, report Reporters sans frontières (RSF) and the International Press Institute (IPI). Freelance journalist Sánchez Tovar and freelance photographer Alberto Rincon were on their way to cover the municipal elections in El Playon that day. Both were shot at point-blank range and their equipment was stolen. RSF says that the "police suspect that the criminals were attempting to disguise the murder as a theft" and investigators believe that the paramilitary Colombian group United Self Defense Forces (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, AUC) may be responsible for the assassinations.

Chile

CONTINÚAN LAS VIOLACIONES A LIBRE EXPRESIÓN

Chile

LES VIOLATIONS DE LA LIBERTÉ D?EXPRESSION SE POURSUIVENT

Chile

FREE EXPRESSION VIOLATIONS CONTINUE

The Chilean government continues to flagrantly violate free expression despite its return to democracy in the past nine years, writes Chilean journalist Alejandra Matus in the latest issue of "Index on Censorship" entitled "After the Fall" (Vol. 5, 1999).

Argentina

INICIATIVA DE LEY DE MEDIOS RESTRINGE PERIODISMO

Argentina

UN PROJET DE LOI SUR LES MÉDIAS RESTREINT LA PRATIQUE DU JOURNALISME

Argentina

MEDIA BILL RESTRICTS JOURNALISM

Media organisations and trade unions state that a bill approved by the Argentinian legislature on 1 September will regulate and restrict journalists' functions in the country, reports PERIODISTAS. According to these groups, the bill “violates freedom of expression” by removing certain responsibilities from journalists and assigning them solely to radio and television announcers. The legislation stipulates that only announcers “can direct or facilitate programmes” and “broadcast informative and news bulletins, and related or isolated news items.” PERIODISTAS reports that “the Argentinian Press Workers Federation (FATPREN) and the Buenos Aires Press Workers Union (UTPBA) warned that if the law is ratified, journalists will be prevented from performing some of their current duties, such as disseminating news items.”

Colombia

PERIODISTA ASESINADO

Colombia

UN JOURNALISTE EST TUÉ

Colombia

JOURNALIST KILLED

Colombian journalist Guzmán Quintero Torres was killed on 16 September, report the Fundacion para la Libertad de Prensa in Colombia, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) and the the Inter American Press Association (IAPA). Quintero Torres, editor-in chief of "El Pilon," was also

Paraguay

LE SPP DEMANDE LA GARANTIE DE LA LIBERTÉ D?EXPRESSION

Chile

COMMÉMORATION DES JOURNALISTES ASSASSINÉS ET DISPARUS

Paraguay

SPP PIDE SE GARANTICE LIBERTAD DE EXPRESIÓN

Chile

CONMEMORACIÓN DE PERIODISTAS ASESINADOS Y DESAPARECIDOS

Chile

COMMEMORATION OF ASSASSINATED AND DISAPPEARED JOURNALISTS

On 8 September, the anniversary of the journalist José Carrasco Tapia’s murder in 1986, the College of Journalists (CIAP) took the opportunity to dedicate a plaque in commemoration of all of the assassinated and disappeared journalists during the Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990). Carrasco, who was editor of the discontinued magazine ANALISIS and director of CIAP, was the last of a series of journalists targeted by the Pinochet regime. The commemorative plaque was placed where Carrasco’s body was found.

Colombia

ASESINAN AL PERSONAJE DE LOS MEDIOS JAIME GARZÓN

Colombia

UNE PERSONNALITÉ DU MONDE DES MÉDIAS, JAIME GARZÓN, EST ASSASSINÉE

Colombia

MEDIA PERSONALITY JAIME GARZÓN MURDERED

One of Colombia's most popular political humorists, Jaime Garzon, was killed on 13 August, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters sans frontières (RSF), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and the International Press Institute (IPI). Garzon was driving to his job as morning host at the Bogota radio station Radionet when he was gunned down by two men on a motorcycle. The assassins managed to escape, reports RSF.

Colombia

MEDIOS DE COMUNICACIÓN SUFREN, PRESIDENTE PROMETE INVESTIGAR

Colombia

LES MÉDIAS PÂTISSENT; LE PRÉSIDENT PROMET DE FAIRE ENQUÊTE

Colombia

MEDIA SUFFERS, PRESIDENT PROMISES TO INVESTIGATE

Freedom of the press is suffering in Colombia but the government has promised to investigate, according to Reporters sans frontières (RSF) and the Inter American Press Association (IAPA). On 23 June, RSF wrote to Colombian President Andrés Pastrana to encourage him to follow through with his promises to investigate crimes against journalists that have been carried out with impunity. "Since 1995, 18 journalists have been assassinated, nine media outlets have been the victims of bombings or attempted bombings, 20 media professionals have been kidnapped, at least 15 others have been threatened, and two others have had to leave the country and go into exile," reports RSF. According to the Foundation for Freedom of the Press (la Fundacion para la Libertad de Prensa,) in the last 20 years, 120 journalists have been killed in Colombia. At the Rio Summit between the European Union and Latin America being held on 28 and 29 June in Brazil, RSF called for an end to impunity for crimes against journalists.

Peru

JOURNALISTE DE LA RADIO BRUTALEMENT ASSASSINÉ

Peru

RADIO JOURNALIST BRUTALLY MURDERED

Journalist Félix Haro Rodríguez was found dead on 4 June in Peru, report the Institute for Press and Society (IPYS) and Reporters sans frontières (RSF). Haro Rodríguez was a professional photographer and host of "Recuerdos de los Andes", a programme featuring traditional music, which was broadcast on Radio 1160's affiliate in Aucayacu (north of Lima.) The journalist was attacked with machetes and his body dismembered in a manner "reminiscent of the method used by the Shining Path," says IPYS. Haro Rodríguez was last seen alive on 2 June after several unknown persons came to his home under the pretense of hiring him to take photographs at a social gathering. His body was discovered in Cotomonillo, three kilometers from Aucayacu, where six villagers had recently been assassinated by a brigade of the Shining Path.

Argentina

EDITOR ASESINADO DESPUÉS DE AMENAZAS

Argentina

L'ÉDITEUR ET RÉDACTEUR EN CHEF D'UN HEBDOMADAIRE EST ASSASSINÉ

Argentina

EDITOR KILLED AFTER THREATS

Ricardo Gangeme, publisher and editor of the weekly "El Informador Chubutense", was assassinated on 13 May in Trelew, Argentina, report the Asociacion para la Defensa del Periodismo Independiente (Periodistas) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). He was shot at close range as he was arriving at the building where he had been living recently. According to Periodistas and CPJ, a large sum of money was found on the journalist, ruling out robbery as a possible motive. Periodistas reports that the motive for the crime is unknown, but local journalists alleged that on the previous Sunday powerful Patagonian businessman Héctor Fernández tried to run the journalist over with his truck and told him "what you are saying, it's going to cost you your life." Gangeme filed a report of these threats with the police and the case was before the Trelew criminal court. "In the last four editions of his weekly magazine, Gangeme had published articles on irregularities in purchases by the Trelew Electric Company for Corralon Fernández, which is owned by the businessman," according to Periodistas. About two years ago, legal proceedings were initiated to examine these irregularities, and Gangeme obtained information for his articles from the records of the case.

Peru

DES JOURNALISTES SONT MENACÉS

Paraguay

LES MÉDIAS SONT LA CIBLE D'ATTAQUES

Peru

PERIODISTAS AMENAZADOS; INVESTIGACIÓN DE MUERTE CERRADA

Paraguay

MEDIOS ATACADOS ENTRE LA VIOLENCIA POLÍTICA

Paraguay

MEDIA ATTACKED AMID POLITICAL VIOLENCE

A number of media were attacked during political violence in Paraguay, which culminated in the resignation of President Raúl Cubas Grau, reports the Sindicato de Periodistas del Paraguay (SPP). On the night of 26 March and the early morning of 27 March, four young people were killed and approximately 200 people injured, when snipers fired against demonstrators who had for several days been asking for the President's resignation. Luís González Macchi took over as President after Cubas resigned on 28 March and his military ally, former army chief Gen. Lino Oviedo, fled to Argentina. News reports allege that Oviedo was heavily involved in running the government and was responsible for the killings of the demonstrators and the assassination of Vice President Luis Maria Argaña last week.

Peru

JOURNALISTS THREATENED; MURDER INVESTIGATION CLOSED

Journalists across Peru have been attacked and threatened with death, report the Institute for Press and Society (IPYS) and the human rights section for Latin America of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in Peru. On 18 March, Radio Marañon journalist José Luis Linares Altamirano, was shot by two hooded assailants in his home in Jaen, Cajamarca, in northeastern Peru. Linares is the director of two radio programmes, one in which he reads press releases and a romantic one named "Punto Corazon". IPYS reports, "The bullets pierced Linares' small intestine and injured part of one of his kidneys, as a result of which he is fighting for his life." Etalo Salazar, chief of programming for Radio Marañon, told IPYS "this attack is part of a systematic campaign against journalists, particularly journalists working with this broadcaster, given that three months ago they began to receive threatening telephone calls, apparently in response to their critical stance on issues such as human rights violations and the environment."

Argentina

QUI PERMET D'EMPRISONNER LES JOURNALISTES QUI DISSIMULENT LEUR ENREGISTREMENTS