2024-04-10 12:08:36
This Monday, the Foundation for Freedom of the Press (FLIP) and the organization Article 19 presented a report called “Laws of silence”, in which they indicate that judicial harassment against journalists from Mexico and Colombia has grown “alarmingly” in recent years.
On World Press Freedom Day, this May 3, FLIP reported 36 cases of judicial harassment in Colombia in 2020 compared to 14 in 2017, while in Mexico Article 19 registered 39 cases in 2020 compared to only one in 2015.
“It is alarming that in Colombia and Mexico the judicial apparatus serves private interest instead of the public. “Judicial harassment punishes the messenger and harms the public’s right to receive information,” declared Maria Ordzhonikidze, director of the Justice Foundation for Journalists (JFJ, in English).
The report is published when Mexico reaches World Press Freedom Day as the most dangerous country to practice journalism in the Western Hemisphere. according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Article 19 counts 17 journalists murdered in the little more than 2 years of the presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, in addition to 692 attacks in 2020, of which 49.5% were committed by public officials.
Added to the physical attacks is judicial harassment in Mexico, whose states contemplate “crimes against honor”, such as slander or insult, in addition to civil legislation that allows suing for defamation, said Silvia Ruiz, researcher for Article 19.
Public officials and people who work in the private sector but with a public projection resort to these legal figures “to discourage and censor criticism,” the expert warned.
“In this context where the violation of the human rights of defenders and journalists is increasing, it is extremely worrying that these types of crimes remain classified in the majority of federal entities,” he said.
Juan Pablo Madrid-Malo, coordinator of the Center for Freedom of Expression Studies at FLIP, described a similar context in Colombia.
“The abuse of judicial tools to intimidate journalists is increasing and does not stop; it is also important to mention that these figures may be underreported because there are cases that are not made public,” he stated. (01)