(IPYS/IFEX) – On 11 April 2005, bailiffs stopped journalists from entering Caracas’s main justice building, saying that they were acting on the orders of Belkis Cedeño, the new president of the Caracas Metropolitan Area Criminal Justice Circuit. The building houses the headquarters of the Caracas Metropolitan Area’s criminal court system. The reporters were forced to […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 11 April 2005, bailiffs stopped journalists from entering Caracas’s main justice building, saying that they were acting on the orders of Belkis Cedeño, the new president of the Caracas Metropolitan Area Criminal Justice Circuit. The building houses the headquarters of the Caracas Metropolitan Area’s criminal court system. The reporters were forced to carry out their work from outside the building.
Regulations at the justice building previously prohibited cameras and tape recorders in the courtrooms, but the new measures, which also affect state press personnel, broaden the restrictions to include the entire building.
Edgar López, a reporter for “El Nacional” newspaper’s justice section, characterised the decision as “serious” because the media “will not be able to make audiovisual recordings of what is taking place at the criminal court headquarters and, as such, journalists will not have this type of supporting information, which, at some point, could lead to doubts about the veracity of the stories being reported.”
The reporters affected by the measure went to Cedeños’ office to ask for an explication, but were not received. They subsequently sent a letter to Supreme Court President Omar Mora requesting a meeting and an explanation of the scope and reason for the measure.
