Click here to read more about press freedom conditions in VENEZUELA New York, August 14, 2000 — A Venezuelan judge ordered that Caracas journalist Pablo López, editor-in-chief of the weekly La Razón, be placed under house arrest for failing to attend a court-scheduled August 4 hearing in a criminal-defamation suit filed against La Razón by…
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to express its concern over the criminal defamation charges being brought against the weekly La Razón for reporting on alleged irregularities in bidding on government contracts and at state auctions. We strongly object to the weekly’s being prohibited from publishing information related to this case. We view this harassment through legal channels as a violation of international law. We urge Your Excellency to use the power of your office to see to it that La Razón’s right to inform the public is respected.
President Hugo Chávez Frías, who took office in February in a landslide victory, excoriated the press for criticizing his plan to rewrite Venezuela’s constitution. Voters ratified the constitution in December by an overwhelming margin; journalists worry that an amendment guaranteeing the public’s “right to timely, truthful, and impartial information” could be used as justification to…
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to express its deep concern about the continued inclusion of a provision guaranteeing the right to “timely, truthful, and impartial information” in the draft constitution of Venezuela. This provision violates international standards for freedom of expression.
Gustavo GorritiLa Prensa Following is the text of remarks by Gustavo Gorriti, a Peruvian investigative reporter with La Prensa in Panama, upon receiving the 1998 CPJ International Press Freedom Award in ceremonies November 24, 1998, at 9 p.m. at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. We journalists, historians of first resort, do not just report our…