The regional network of civil society organizations in Latin America Voices del Sur reported on Wednesday that at least 103 attacks on press freedom occurred in Nicaragua last March, the month in which Journalist Day is highlighted in the Central American country.
Of the total number of violations, “94 were perpetrated against the media, 8 against natural persons and 1 case against a union organization of journalists”, he explained in a report Voces del Sur, which promotes and defends freedom of the press and expression, access to information and the safety and protection of the reporters.
“In March, the Nicaraguan judiciary condemned 7 political prisoners linked to independent journalism for alleged crimes linked to money laundering and undermining national integrity,” he added.
The incidents prompted Voices del Sur to produce eight alerts, of which four were followed up.
Human rights violations “fell among 11 victims”: 7 natural persons, 3 media outlets and 1 trade union organization of journalists.
Of the victims, three are men, three are women, two are members of the LGBTIQ+ community and three preferred not to specify themselves. Among the legal entities affected, the network mentioned the newspaper La Prensa, Fuentes Confiables and the newspaper HOY, as well as the Association of Journalists of Nicaragua (APN).
As in January and February, in March the State topped the list of perpetrators, followed by unidentified or state aggressors, according to the report.
He also noted that last March seven “political prisoners linked to independent journalism” were convicted by the Nicaraguan justice system for “alleged crimes linked to money laundering and undermining national integrity.”
Last February, Voices del Sur reported 104 attacks on press freedom in Nicaragua.
Attacks on journalists and independent media increased after mass protests against President Ortega in April 2018.
Since then, Nicaragua has been experiencing a socio-political crisis that has left at least 328 dead, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), although local organizations raise the figure to 684 and the regime recognizes 200.
(With information from EFE)
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