Inter American Press Association

The Inter American Press Association has asked the Cochabamaba, Bolivia, Judiciary Council for transparency, due process and access to justice in the criminal case brought against journalist Marianela Montenegro on a charge of defamation.

IAPA expressed outrage at the murder of journalist Mauricio Campos Rosa in Brazil and called for an in-depth investigation to determine who was responsible and the motive for the crime.

Journalist Humberto Vacaflor was charged after reporting that President Morales had been one of the masterminds of the murder of a police officer and his wife in 2000.

The Inter American Press Association has issued a statement expressing its concern over the adverse conditions and growing tensions affecting journalists and news media in Mexico, and criticized the inability of the government to guarantee the safe practice of journalism and press freedom in the country.

Reporter Elpidio Ramos Zárate was killed in the southwestern state of Oaxaca, after covering civil unrest and clashes between teachers and police.

“Without a doubt this lawsuit has the intent to intimidate, as it seeks the imprisonment of journalists, an action that reminds us of punishments in Chile that were brought against journalists in undemocratic times,” said Claudio Paolillo, chairman of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information.

The libel suit against editor Juan José Garrido and the newspaper Perú 21 seeks damages amounting to approximately US$230,000 payable to Félix Moreno Caballero, president of the Callao Regional Government.

After Colombian-Spanish journalist Salud Hernández-Mora went missing on 21 May in northern Colombia, two other journalists who went to report on her disappearance have also gone missing.