The Committee to Protect Journalists warned of what it described as an unprecedented persecution of journalists following Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election.
Caracas, September 21, 2024 (Lusa) – The non-governmental organization (NGO) Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) warned of what it described as an unprecedented persecution of journalists following the July 28 presidential elections in Venezuela.
CPJ said Friday that eight journalists have been arrested on terrorism charges for their reporting and a dozen others have been forced into exile.
A report on the situation of the press in Venezuela highlights that “many media outlets have gone underground” in the face of systematic harassment and attacks by senior officials of President Nicolás Maduro’s government.
CPJ highlighted the new Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello, who, “without evidence, accused several independent digital platforms of receiving funding from drug trafficking.”
“Since the election, the situation has worsened dramatically: the government has implemented internet blackouts and blocked communication platforms, while journalists are faced with impossible choices in order to continue practicing their profession,” CPJ said, citing the NGO Institute for Press and Society of Venezuela and Espacio Público.
The report publishes statements from journalists who had to leave Venezuela after suffering attacks, including three journalists who stopped writing articles because they were victims of defamation campaigns on social media.
“They make us feel like criminals or fugitives from justice,” one journalist told CPJ, stressing that she was considering leaving journalism and fleeing Venezuela.
Among the professionals who made their forced exile public was photojournalist Jesús Medina Ezaine, who left the country on Sunday, considering his safety to be at risk.
This is despite a judge dismissing all charges in June after a trial that lasted six years, of which he spent two years in prison.
Journalist Luis Gonzalo Pérez also released a video on Thursday in which he explains that, as part of the communications team of opposition leader María Corina Machado, both he and his family were at risk.
The report includes statements by journalists who speak of increasing difficulties, even when they are granted anonymity, in interviewing reliable sources and ordinary citizens, because they fear reprisals.
CPJ had previously warned of censorship of several online news sites and NGOs defending freedom of expression. Several radio stations were shut down and access to sites fighting fake news was blocked.
“Press freedom in Venezuela was already eroding long before the election, as the Maduro regime had shut down television channels and radio stations, blocked news portals, confiscated newspapers, and fomented fear and self-censorship during its 11 years in power,” the organization said.
Venezuela’s National Electoral Council has awarded the presidential victory to Nicolás Maduro with just over 51% of the votes.
The Venezuelan opposition questions the official data and claims that its candidate, former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia – currently exiled in Spain – obtained almost 70% of the votes.
The Venezuelan opposition and many countries have denounced electoral fraud and demanded that voting records be submitted for independent verification.
The election results were disputed in the streets, with demonstrations repressed by security forces, with, according to the authorities, more than 2,400 people arrested, 27 dead and 192 injured.
FPG // VQ
Lusa/End
Source: Observadora
