Juan Carlos Gahona, brother of late journalist Ángel Gahona, addresses a crowd during a demonstration against the government of President Daniel Ortega in front of the Nicaraguan embassy in San José, Costa Rica, 21 June 2018, EZEQUIEL BECERRA/AFP via Getty Images We call on authorities to guarantee freedom of expression rights and We express our solidarity with Nicaraguan journalists and media workers, recognising their bravery, courage and unwavering commitment
It is disconcerting to note the unequal, exclusionary and discriminatory treatment received by independent journalists, who are prevented from carrying out their work and denied access to public information – including reliable information about the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, independent journalists are constantly targeted with assaults and violations of their rights. This situation has been documented by national and international human rights organisations, as well as the local media.
Trans woman Zashy Zuley del Cid was murdered in the streets of San Miguel, El Salvador (Facebook)
El Salvador’s LGBT+ community is mourning the loss of a fearless trans woman and activist who was murdered from a gunshot to the back.
Zashy Zuley del Cid was killed in the early hours of 24 April in an area of San Miguel where sex workers are known to gather, according to the advocacy group COMCAVIS Trans.
She was an active member of the city’s transgender community and had worked with the grassroots LGBT+ collective Colectivo Perlas de Oriente since 2017. She had reportedly received death threats before.
The ICC does not have a deadline to decide whether to admit the accusation, making a prompt response unlikely.
Chilean and human rights organizations together with former Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón filed an accusation Thursday before the International Criminal Court (ICC) against President Sebastián Piñera for his alleged involvement in crimes against humanity during the 2019 protests, it was reported.
”Garzón, the Chilean Human Rights Commission (CCHDH) and other organizations today sent a letter to the attorney general of the International Criminal Court (ICC), lawyer Fatou Bensouda, in the Dutch city of The Hague for the court to investigate, accuse and initiate a trial of President Sebastián Piñera for crimes against humanity that have been committed since October 2019,” reported the Center for Journalistic Investigation (Ciper).
International: Protecting journalists is key to sustainable media
Sao Paulo, Brazil: Photojournalists light candles during a vigil marking the death of a video journalist killed while covering a protest in Rio de Janeiro. Credit: Nelson Antoine/Shutterstock
Advocates of free speech and media freedom are working hard to ensure the media we consume every day is capable of informing us as well as debating with us, capable of carrying out investigations, and resilient enough to hold officials to account for their actions.
Yet the challenges are considerable. Media are doing this work in a rapidly evolving landscape: platforms and apps, print publications and radio, TV and digital broadcast outlets. And across this media space, evidence is mounting that there is the opportunity to contribute to what we call ‘information for public good’. But so much is at risk and in trouble, including support for independent journalism. Why?