(IPYS/IFEX) – On 1 November 2005, David Ludovic, writer of the “El Nacional” newspaper column “A las puertas de Palacio” (“At the palace’s door”), was pressured by the president’s security personnel into handing over a tape of interviews done adjacent to the White Palace (Palacio Blanco, a building in front of the Miraflores presidential palace […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 1 November 2005, David Ludovic, writer of the “El Nacional” newspaper column “A las puertas de Palacio” (“At the palace’s door”), was pressured by the president’s security personnel into handing over a tape of interviews done adjacent to the White Palace (Palacio Blanco, a building in front of the Miraflores presidential palace in downtown Caracas). The guards told him the area is a security zone where tape recorders cannot be used without permission from the presidential press office. Ludovic was also forced to sign a statement in which he denied having been the victim of physical or verbal attacks.
The journalist went to the area, as he has been doing since September, to interview people seeking assistance at the social services department (departamento de Atención Social al Ciudadano) in the Palacio Blanco. As he was interviewing two women, he was approached by three security guards who demanded that he hand over the tape and accompany them into the building. According to Ludovic, he was questioned exhaustively twice and treated with disdain. The tape was temporarily confiscated.
As he was being questioned, the security personnel explained to the journalist that in order to be able to use his tape recorder outside the Palace he should obtain a permit from the Presidential Press Office. Ludovic was strongly urged by the guards to sign a statement denying that he had been subjected to any physical or verbal attacks. He did so despite reservations.
Preserving “national security” is one of the most frequently used arguments to justify restrictions on freedom of expression. In this case, it was applied after Ludovic published eight columns based on taped testimony about requests made to the social services department. According to Ludovic, social services director Ybrahim Noriega knew of the journalist’s work and his response to accusations made against him had even been published in Ludovic’s column.
