The Ministry of the Interior decided this Wednesday to assign a police custody the journalist Silvia Techera, who was threatened with death via Facebookfor a publication in which he reported on organized crime, reported the Uruguayan government’s National Audiovisual Communication Service (Secan).
In addition to working for Public Media, Techera is a journalist in Underlined (channel 10) and the radio station La voz de Melo, in Cerro Largo.
The threat came in a personal message to her Facebook account: “Good morning Silvia Techera, It was to warn you to take care of yourself on the street because your hours are numbered, if you want to take it as a threat, I’ll tell you as a warning, I’m going to shoot your head in the street, I know where you live, declare yourself dead for the simple reason that you published a publication on your death talking about any shit of a person that you do not have to get involved and have called him a criminal bandit, delinquent and murderer. You are a worthless journalist. Remember to take care of yourself in the street and lock the door well (sic) ”, reads the letter, spread by Underlined.
“Techera made the complaint to the police authorities, who began to investigate the case and ordered the custody of the journalist,” Secan said on Twitter. He added that his president, Gerardo Sotelo, communicated “to send him his support and that of the entire organization.”
“From the Secan we stand in solidarity with Silvia and her family, and we condemn this type of criminal action, which seeks to intimidate journalists and communicators, whose professional and independent work has as its main purpose to inform the public about all the facts in which it is violated the law and threatens peaceful and democratic coexistence,” the brief added.
The Uruguayan Press Association (APU), for its part, condemned the threat and demanded that the authorities clarify what he classified as a “serious fact”. In turn, he asked for this Wednesday afternoon “protecting the integrity” of the journalist.
From Underlined, meanwhile, they supported the victim: “Silvia Techera is a serious, responsible journalist, who enjoys the affection of her colleagues, and is valued professionally for her work. From here, Underlined, all her colleagues, and the channel, we send the support she deserves and the wish of the immediate clarification of the facts.
Melo’s voice stated on its website that “at the moment the communicator does not know what caused that reaction from the person who wrote directly to your Facebook profile.
