Honduras

Three days after the Honduran interim government led by Roberto Micheletti lifted a September 27 decree that allowed them to shut down Radio Globo and Canal 36, broadcasters loyal to ousted President Manuel Zelaya, the two stations were still prevented from resuming normal transmissions, according to local and international news reports. 

Early Monday morning, military and police personnel forcefully shut down the Tegucigalpa-based Radio Globo under a decree by the de facto government that suspends civil liberties, CPJ reported. Today, Honduran and international media outlets said the radio station was being broadcast online.

New York, September 28, 2009—The interim government of Honduras must immediately allow two private broadcasters loyal to ousted President Manuel Zelaya to return to the air, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Officials, acting under a new decree that suspends civil liberties, shut down Radio Globo and Canal 36 television early today, according to local and international news reports.

New York, August 25, 2009--Masked assailants on Monday stormed a radio station and a television outlet critical of the country's interim government, forcing the broadcasters off the air in the latest attack on the Honduran media. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Honduran authorities to ensure that all journalists can work safely in an increasingly polarized and violent environment.

Unidentified individuals harassed and attacked journalists working at the Tegucigalpa offices of the online daily Hondudiario.com three times in two weeks, according to CPJ interviews and local news reports. Though the attacks appeared to be robberies, the daily's director told CPJ he believed they were retaliation for the Hondudiario.com's reporting on corruption in the Honduran government. 

New York, July 13, 2009--A group of Venezuelan journalists with the regional television network Telesur and the state-owned station Venezolana de Televisión (VTV) left Honduras on Sunday after being detained and harassed in the capital, Tegucigalpa. The Committee to Protect Journalists reiterated its call on the interim Honduran government to respect freedom of expression by allowing all media to report freely without interference. 

The ongoing political crisis following the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya on June 28 has damaged the press freedom climate in Honduras. Complying with orders by caretaker leader Roberto Micheletti, Honduran security forces shut down local broadcasters, blocked transmissions of international news networks, and briefly detained journalists in the aftermath of the coup, CPJ research shows. But part of the damage was self-inflicted: Some media outlets have slanted coverage to favor the coup leaders.

New York, July 6, 2009--An unidentified gunman shot and killed Honduran journalist Gabriel Fino Noriega on Friday in the town of San Juan Pueblo, according to local press reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Honduran authorities today to conduct a thorough investigation into Noriega's killing and bring those responsible to justice.

New York, June 30, 2009--Honduran military personnel briefly detained seven journalists, temporarily shut down several local broadcasters, and intermittently blocked the broadcast signals of international news channels in the aftermath of the weekend coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya. The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on those in power in Honduras to allow the press to report freely and without fear of reprisal.

We issued the following statement today in response to international press reports that military personnel briefly detained seven journalists on Monday, closed down at least one television station and one radio station in Tegucigalpa, and is interfering with international broadcast of protests in support of ousted President Manuel Zelaya...