In its report called: Generalized Censorship, Espacio Público denounced that threats and acts of censorship were among the main violations of freedom of expression in Venezuela in the month of March, with journalists and citizens as the main victims.
the NGO Public space recorded a total of 16 cases and 34 violations of the right to freedom of expression during the month of March 2023. Mostly with journalists and citizens as the main victims.
Among the abuses, they highlight that “12 journalists and two cameramen were victims of attacks on the exercise of their profession. Among the victims we also registered two individuals, two media outlets and a civil society organization”.
They also indicated that at least four State institutions, three security forces, three civil servants and a representative of the Executive Power, “impeded or attacked the full exercise of this fundamental right.”
On the other hand, they reported that internet failures were accentuated in various regions of the country, according to reports from the Internet Observatory VE without Filterusers of social networks and the state operator cantv.
Aggressions, pressures and threats
In its march report Called: Generalized Censorship, the NGO reported that on March 7, journalists Pableysa Ostos, Félix Requena, Laura Clisánchez, Carlos Suniaga, and photojournalist José Medina were attacked and threatened by pro-government supporters while they were covering a citizen protest in the Bolívar square in San Félix, Bolívar state, in protest against the high rates of urban cleaning of the private company Fospuca.
“People identified with the government party prevented the press from interviewing the protesters, among the attackers was a deputy and an official from the Caroní municipality mayor’s office,” the NGO said.
Among other events that violated freedom of expression, they mentioned journalists Jhonny Ulloa, a correspondent for Globovisión and Unión Radio, and Luis Bustamante, a correspondent for Venevisión, who on March 13 were intimidated by officials of the Monagas State Police while recording shots. for television on Paseo Bolívar in Maturín. The police officers approached both reporters and asked them for their personal information and a photograph “to make a report” of what they were doing and pass it on to their superiors. The journalists reiterated to the officials, and their superior, that they were in a public space doing their job and did not have to give explanations about it.
Among the cases of pressure, the opinion and interview program Par de Calvos stood out, which was hosted by the journalist Vladimir Villegas together with the presenter of Venezolana de Televisión, Pedro Carvajalino “which went off the air at the beginning of March due to alleged pressure from sectors of the line lasts in the ruling party ».
Par de Calvos was broadcast on Villegas’ social networks and on the Venezuela News agency, presumably directed by Carvajalino. The space had as guests figures of various political tendencies, including opposition politicians. “Perhaps someone did not like that (Carvajalino) fraternizes with opponents like Luis Florido or Carlos Prosperi,” Villegas intuited in a television interview.
While in Carúpano, Sucre state, the radio opinion program Good morning with Lira was taken off the air for the fourth time for fear that official officials would raid or confiscate equipment, or close down the 101.1 FM station, according to its director Enel Rodríguez.
The host of the program, Raúl Lira, explained that the act was self-censorship, since the director of the outlet had not received any threat from the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel), nor from mayors or officials, but “he fears that the State Venezuelan is going to snatch or confiscate the equipment and shut down the station’s radio.”
#SummaryEP | At the end of March 2023, we recorded a total of 16 cases and 34 violations of the #Freedom of expression with journalists and citizens as main victims | #10apr
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— Public Space ?️ (@espaciopublico) April 10, 2023
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