(SPP/IFEX) – The following is a 6 September 1999 SPP press release: 6 September 1999 Call for restoration of freedom of expression in Villarrica The Paraguay Union of Journalists (Sindicato de Periodistas del Paraguay, SPP) urged Attorney General Aníbal Cabrera Veron to ensure that the necessary means are taken to restore freedom of expression and […]
(SPP/IFEX) – The following is a 6 September 1999 SPP press release:
6 September 1999
Call for restoration of freedom of expression in Villarrica
The Paraguay Union of Journalists (Sindicato de Periodistas del Paraguay,
SPP) urged Attorney General Aníbal Cabrera Veron to ensure that the
necessary means are taken to restore freedom of expression and information,
which are currently being restricted in the city of Villarrica. SPP’s
request comes as a result of legal actions against Secundino “Nino” Silguero
and Norma Acuña, journalists with Radio Panambí Verá. Judge Norma Jara de
Benítez gave Silguero and Acuña a twenty-day disciplinary arrest sentence
because the two journalists criticised some of the judge’s rulings. The case
is currently being examined by the Supreme Court’s constitutional chamber.
Furthermore, in Villarrica, Attorney Carlos Alvarenga advised Judge Jara de
Benítez to record, from July until September, the afternoon programme on
Radio Panambí Verá, which Silguero runs (see IFEX alert of 19 August 1999).
This unusual ruling, which is a form of prior censorship according to SPP,
is part of a file compiling various protests. Referring to legal decisions
that have affected Panambí Verá journalists, SPP asked the attorney general
to “educate attorneys so that they ‘will truly act as society’s
representatives and safeguard the constitutional guarantees of freedom of
expression and information,’ and thus ensure that the legal system is not
used to limit these guarantees.”
