IACHR Grants Precautionary Measures in Favor of Journalist Gustavo Gorriti in Peru

July 28, 2023

Washington, D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) issued Resolution 42/2023 on July 24, 2023, to grant precautionary measures in favor of Gustavo Andrés Gorriti Ellenbogen in Perú, in the belief that he faces a risk of suffering irreparable harm to his rights.

According to the party who requested these precautionary measures, Gustavo Gorriti leads IDL-Reporteros—the investigative journalism unit at the Legal Defense Institute (IDL)—and is in his own right an investigative journalist active in cases involving politics, culture, corruption, human rights violations, and social issues. Since 2019, the beneficiary has allegedly been subjected to various instances of harassment and threats (including constant death threats and anti-Semitic comments), as well as to leaks and social media posts sharing his personal details, in the context of a stigmatization campaign known as terruqueo. The party who requested these precautionary measures further warned that the prevention and protection measures taken by the State had proved ineffective and that no progress had been made to investigate the allegations.

The State said that a prevention scheme had been launched by the Public Prosecutor's Office for Crime Prevention in the Lima Fiscal District, while several proceedings had been initiated in relevant police stations and the information that had been collected from them had been passed on to enable better investigations. The State also said that it had increased police presence in the area around the headquarters of IDL-Reporteros and around Gustavo Gorriti's home. The State also provided the details of various efforts made to investigate the groups who are allegedly responsible for acts of harassment, coercion, intimidation, and assault against several individuals.

The Commission thanked the State for this information but noted that the protection measures adopted had not been sufficient to prevent harassment and threats against the beneficiary. The IACHR said that no progress had been made in these investigations and that the individuals responsible for the violence were yet to be punished, although they had been identified.

In keeping with Article 25 of its Rules of Procedure, the IACHR therefore decided to grant these precautionary measures and asked the State of Peru to:

1. Adopt any measures necessary to protect Gustavo Gorriti's rights to life and personal integrity
2. Take any measures necessary to enable Gustavo Gorriti to do his work without being subjected to intimidation, threats, harassment, or any other forms of violence for doing such work (this includes taking measures to enable him to exercise his right to freedom of expression)
3. Come to an agreement with the beneficiary and his representatives concerning any measures that need to be taken
4. Report on any actions adopted to investigate the events that have given rise to the adoption of this resolution, in order to prevent such events from happening again in the future

The fact that these precautionary measures have been granted and their adoption by the State do not entail a prejudgment on a potential petition that may be filed before the inter-American system to allege violations of rights protected by the applicable instruments.

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 172/23

3:40 PM