- Since July 29, police forces have arrested at least 9 journalists in Venezuela
On August 26, the secretary general of the National Union of Press Workers (SNTP), Marco Ruíz, expressed his concern regarding the arrests of journalists in recent weeks.
“We are victims of a biased vision, what we are witnessing today is unprecedented. There is also an escalation with irregular components, violation of human rights, cruelty, discretion, abusive use of laws linked to terrorism,” said Ruíz in an interview with Vladimir Villegas for his YouTube channel.
The journalist added that subjecting journalists, photojournalists and cameramen to criminal law is something that has never been seen in Venezuela. Since July 29, police forces have arrested at least nine journalists, two of them accused of terrorism.
“There is an undeclared curfew that threatens to dismantle journalism in 70% of Venezuelan states. There are colleagues who have had to leave the country walking across the border, fleeing repression, persecution; who if they write a story do not sign it, others who are being victims of hate campaigns through social networks,” said the secretary general of the SNTP.
Ruíz explained that the “undeclared curfew” is due to the fear generated by the actions of state security forces and that it causes journalists to prioritize the defense of their own lives over their right to report.
“Journalists are not terrorists, we are doing our job and that is why we demand respect and justice for our colleagues who are behind bars. We are key players as guarantors of democracy,” said the journalist.
Recent arrests of journalists
Ruiz also referred to the Arrest of journalist Carmela Longo which occurred on August 25th.
“In the case of Carmela there is enormous consternation, there are many questions and very few answers. We know of her professionalism, we also know how careful she has been during all this time when it comes to reporting, informing, saying what is happening, and also from a very particular source like the source of the show, which makes this case even more striking, because those of the last few days are associated with coverage of protests of a political nature,” explained the Secretary General of the SNTP.
The journalist explained that Longo managed to contact the union to notify them that a commission of the Bolivarian National Police had arrived at his home with a search warrant.
“It ended in a detention that is arbitrary, that is illegal, because at no time was there an order signed by any court or judge,” said Ruiz.
“We published an update on another case, that of Paul León, a cameraman who had been working for VPI TV in Trujillo state for four months and was arrested on July 30 in the city of Valera,” Ruíz said.
He also mentioned the arrest of two other journalists who were eventually charged with the crime of terrorism: José Gregorio Camero, a journalist arrested in Guárico, and Fernando Chueco, a photojournalist for the Trujillo Governorate.
The Secretary General of the SNTP also referred to the Arrest of the portal reporter The Watermelon, Ana Carolina Guaita Barretowho was arrested in La Guaira on August 20.
“She was covering the day the statue of former President Hugo Chavez was torn down in La Guaira, that is an element for her arrest. We believe that at this time she may have been charged with crimes of terrorism and criminal association, but there is no official information,” said Ruíz.
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2024-08-26 20:59:08
