OAS » IACHR » Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression » Nicaragua

Freedom of Expression

Nicaragua

            Threats and attacks

 

            236.     The home of journalist Sergio León, correspondent for the newspaper La Prensa in Bluefields, was stoned the night of Sunday, May 18, 2003.  The incident was attributed to criminals who wanted to intimidate him due to his reports on the alleged involvement of an anti-drug official and several of his agents in acts of corruption related to drug-traffickers.  Days earlier, León had been intimidated by distributors of narcotics.[1]

 

            237.     Due to his work in the same area, Freddy Potoy, chief of information of La Prensa, received five intimidating phone calls in which he and his family were threatened.[2]

 

            238.     On May 24, 2003, journalist Sergio León was threatened in a Managuarestaurant where he was meeting with his colleagues Wálter Treminio, correspondent for La Prensa in Puerto Cabezas, and Tatiana Rothschuh, editor for the Departments section.  There they came across two police officials.  One of them called out to León, “it’s not in Bluefields that they’re going to kill you.”[3]

 

            239.     On June 2, 2003, Wálter Treminio was threatened by an individual who had been on trial for international drug trafficking.  The threat was made when Treminio was in the company of his colleague José Adán Silva and photographer Germán Miranda, both of La Prensa.[4]

 

            Legislation

 

            240.     The Rapporteurship received information on some steps that are being taken to implement Law 372, which requires membership in a professional association to be able to work as a journalist.  In this respect, the Rapporteur recalls that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in its Advisory Opinion No. 5, determined that compulsory membership in a professional association is contrary to the American Convention on Human Rights.

 

            Progress

 

            241.     On November 7, 2003, a proposed access-to-information law was introduced in the legislature.  The bill seeks to ensure access to documents, files, and databases of government agencies, and of institutions that administer public goods.  In addition, the initiative aims to demand the establishment of offices for access to information in each government institution covered by the proposal, in order to facilitate such access.  The Rapporteurship will closely monitor the development of the legislative debate on this initiative.

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