IACHR Condemns Attacks against Journalists in Nicaragua
HAVANA TIMES – Since last May, the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (IACHR) has documented attacks on 12 media outlets and journalists by the Nicaraguan government of Daniel Ortega. These have all taken place in the context of the presidential elections scheduled for November.
On Monday, August 16, the IACHR condemned the Ortega regime’s “repeated attacks” on workers, journalists and media outlets in that country.
In their statement, the regional organization reported that it has documented “at least 12 print, radio, television and digital journalists from different regions of the country, who’ve been forced into exile for fear of reprisals against them.” All this is happening as the country prepares for the November 2021 presidential elections, the organization noted.
In a chronological report, the IACHR cited the raid last May against the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation, as well as the facilities used by Confidencial for their website and online television news program Esta Semana. Confidencial’s director, Carlos Fernando Chamorro, had to go into exile for the second time.
Former presidential candidate Cristiana Chamorro was arrested the same month, as was her driver, Pedro Vásquez Cortedano.
“These repeated acts constitute serious attacks and undue restrictions on the right to freedom of expression, which in some cases constitute acts of censorship,” the statement indicated.
The IACHR made the complaint jointly with its Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, and the Regional Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for Central America and the Dominican Republic (OHCHR).