Freedom of Expression
Press Release R201/18
The Office of the
Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression Condemns Attacks, Political
Pressure and Indirect Censorship against Journalists and Media Outlets in
Nicaragua
September 8, 2018
Washington D.C. – The Office of the Special
Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights (IACHR) condemns persistent threats against journalists’ safety, as well
as surveillance and political pressure against media outlets in Nicaragua.
Among other practices, various media outlets denounced the launch of indirect
censorship mechanisms by the State against Channel 10’s journalistic team. The
Special Rapporteur urgently calls on the State to end such actions and to
guarantee the free and independent functioning of the media in the country.
According to information that has been
verified by the IACHR’s Special Monitoring Mechanism for Nicaragua (MESENI, by
its Spanish acronym), the production team of Acción 10, the newscast with the
highest number of viewers in Nicaragua, has been under pressure since the start
of the ongoing political crisis in the country. On August 20, Oscar Ortiz,
allegedly a spokesperson for Nicaragua’s pro-government Channel 8, arrived at
Channel 10’s headquarters with the aim of becoming the head of reporting for
the newscast Acción 10. Journalists at that newscast opposed the move and
denounced it as yet another attempt by the government to control Channel 10’s
editorial line.
After that, Nicaragua’s Financial Auditing
Unit (UAF, by its Spanish acronym) launched "financial intelligence
proceedings" against Channel 10’s general manager, Carlos Alberto Pastora
Rossler, for alleged "money laundering." A warrant was issued to prevent him
from leaving the country. According to the available information, on August 22,
Carlos Pastora entered the Honduran Embassy in Nicaragua and requested
diplomatic protection from Honduras, of which he is also a citizen. He also
requested protection from the actions of the Nicaraguan State and from threats
against his life and personal integrity, alleging that he had received direct
threats and been followed.
Channel 10’s Acción 10 newscast is one of the
news programs with the widest reach and the largest audience in the country,
and it is produced by a journalistic firm that is independent from the hosting
channel. When protests started, in April, Acción 10 had to cancel its broadcast
for two days under direct pressure from the government. The newscast went back
on the air after the journalistic team made those pressures public and demanded
that the channel’s owner allow them to report on the protests without
restrictions. According to the available information, the government had also
put pressure on the owner, businessman Ángel González, asking to directly buy
the TV channel from him.
As the IACHR documented in its report Gross
Human Rights Violations in the Context of the Social Protests in Nicaragua, during the first few days of the protests
that led to the current political and social crisis, several journalists and
media outlets received orders from the authorities to restrict the broadcast of
information on those events. At least 15 journalists who worked for three of
the country’s main TV channels resigned from their positions because they
rejected the censorship that had been imposed on them. Over that period,
Channel 12, Canal de Noticias de Nicaragua (CDNN23), Telenorte and Channel 51
(the latter belonging to the Nicaraguan Bishops’ Conference) were all suspended
for 24 hours. The channel 100% Noticias was unable to go on the air for six
days, after refusing to accept pressure from the telecommunications regulator
(TELCOR) demanding that it stop broadcasting programs that were considered anti-government.
The IACHR also granted precautionary measures to protect the lives and personal
integrity of journalists at Radio Darío, a radio station whose facilities were
burned by pro-government groups in the early days of the protests.
The IACHR and its Special Rapporteur for
Freedom of Expression have also observed with great concern stigmatization,
assaults, tracking and other attacks against journalists and camera operators
covering the political crisis that persists in the country and demonstrations
by various groups. Assaults on journalists covering protests and harassment of
foreign journalists were joined this week by a complaint from the digital news
outlet Confidencial, denouncing surveillance and harassment by parapolice
vehicles against several of its journalists.
"The government’s repeated attempts to control
the media through pressures and regulatory mechanisms that lack independence
entail a serious threat against freedom of expression in Nicaragua, which joins
many cases of threats, assaults and intimidation against anyone reporting on
social protests," said Special Rapporteur Edison Lanza. "Today, more than ever,
Nicaragua’s democratic system needs an independent and critical press, so it is
essential to protect the media from political interference and pressures based
on their reporting," the Special Rapporteur added.
Concerning harassment against journalists, the
Office of the Special Rapporteur stresses that journalists "must not be
disturbed, detained or transferred or suffer any other restriction to their
rights based on the exercise of their profession. The tools they use to do
their work must not be confiscated."
The inter-American legal framework
consistently condemns all political pressure and State actions that indirectly
restrict freedom of expression. Article 13.3 of the American Convention states
that "the right of expression may not be restricted by indirect methods or
means, such as the abuse of government or private controls [...] or by any
other means tending to impede the communication and circulation of ideas and
opinions."
Along similar lines, Principle 5 of the
IACHR’s Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression states that "prior
censorship, direct or indirect interference in or pressure exerted upon any
expression, opinion or information transmitted through any means of oral,
written, artistic, visual or electronic communication must be prohibited by
law. Restrictions to the free circulation of ideas and opinions, as well as the
arbitrary imposition of information and the imposition of obstacles to the free
flow of information violate the right to freedom of expression." Principle 13
of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression states that "the
exercise of power and the use of public funds by the State, the granting of
customs duty privileges [...], among others, with the intent to put pressure on
and punish or reward and provide privileges to social communicators and
communications media because of the opinions they express threaten freedom of
expression, and must be explicitly prohibited by law. The means of
communication have the right to carry out their role in an independent manner.
Direct or indirect pressures exerted upon journalists or other social
communicators to stifle the dissemination of information are incompatible with
freedom of expression."
In that sense, the Inter-American Court has
said that "the use of a legitimate power of the State to align a given media
outlet’s editorial line with the government" is a form of indirect restriction
incompatible with the American Convention that "could have a deterrent,
terrifying and inhibiting effect on anyone who exercises the right to freedom
of expression, which in turn prevents public debate on issues that are of
interest to society." The Special Rapporteur urgently calls on the Nicaraguan
State to end all sorts of pressures against Channel 10, its managers and
journalists and to take any measures necessary to ensure they can do their work
in a free and independent manner.
R201/18