248 journalists from around the world have signed their name to a letter to Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo expressing their deep concerns over the deterioration of freedom of the press and recent escalation of aggression against media outlets and journalistsin Nicaragua.
Daniel Ortega Saavedra, Presidente de la República de Nicaragua
Rosario Murillo Zambrana, Vicepresidenta de la República de Nicaragua
Presidencia de la República
Frente a Palacio Nacional
4 Calle Noroeste
Managua, Nicaragua 11001
January 7, 2019
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To President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo:
We are journalists and press freedom advocates from Latin America and around the world who view recent developments in your country with deep concern. We write to express alarm over the recent escalation of aggression against media outlets and journalists covering civil unrest and documenting human rights abuses by police and paramilitary groups.
We strongly condemn the December raids on the offices of two major independent news outlets, and the detention of Miguel Mora and Lucía Pineda Ubau, journalists from independent cable and digital channel 100% Noticias, on multiple anti-state charges. These latest anti-press actions occurred shortly before the Christmas holiday, when many in the international community might typically be distracted; however, they did not go unnoticed.
Mora and Pineda, arrested during a December 21 police raid on the 100% Noticias offices in Managua and rushed through court appearances with no access to legal representation, stand accused of crimes including “inciting violence and hate” and “promoting terrorism.” The government has not presented any evidence to date to support the charges against these journalists, who took a lead role in their channel’s critical reporting over the last eight months. More than two weeks after their arrest, both journalists remain in pre-trial detention, and their channel is still banned from broadcasting.
Just a week before the raid on 100% Noticias, riot police ransacked the Managua offices of independent news website Confidencial and two affiliated television programs, all led by renowned journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro, and confiscated equipment and documents.
These are just the latest hostile acts capping off a year that saw dozens of attacks on the media, including the April 20 arson attack on Radio Darío in León and the April 21 death of reporter Ángel Eduardo Gahona, who was shot and killed on camera while reporting on protests in Bluefields.
The recent expulsion of two independent monitoring bodies set up by the Organization of American States (OAS) the day before one group was set to release a report on human rights violations during protests last spring is another disturbing example of your government’s disregard for transparency and international human rights norms.
We call for the immediate release of Miguel Mora and Lucía Pineda Ubau, and an end to actions designed to intimidate and shut down independent media. The office of the president, which exerts control over almost all aspects of government, must order police to stop raiding newsrooms, return all seized equipment and documents, and allow news outlets to work without fear of violent reprisal, interference, or arrest.
We call on you to respect international guarantees for freedom of expression and to cease harassing the independent press. A free and independent media is vital to the functioning of a healthy democratic society, in Nicaragua and throughout the Americas.
Sincerely,
- Abbas Milani — Director of Iranian Studies, Stanford University, USA
- Adela Navarro Bello — Editorial Director, ZETA Magazine, Mexico
- Adriana Carrera — Editor and founder / Editora y fundadora, La Familia de Broward, USA
- Adriana García — Projects director, Spaceship Media, USA
- Alan Riding — Former New York Times correspondent for Mexico and Central America, Paris, France
- Alan Rusbridger — Journalist and author, Former editor-in-chief of the Guardian, UK
- Alberto Salcedo Ramos — Journalist and author, Bogotá, Colombia
- Alejandra Conti — Journalist, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Alejandro Meléndez — Journalist, Mexico
- Alex Grijelmo — Author, Director of UAM-EL PAÍS School of Journalism, Madrid, Spain
- Alícia Ortega-Hasbun– Investigative reporter, Vice President of Grupo SIN/ El Informe, Dominican Republic
- Alma Guillermoprieto — Journalist and author, Mexico/USA
- András Kepes — Author, Professor of Media at Budapest Metropolitan University, Hungary
- Ann Grimes — John S. Knight Journalism Fellow alum, Stanford University, USA
- Anuška Delić — Investigative journalist, Oštro/OCCRP, Slovenia
- Barbara E. Allen — Journalist, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Barbara Maseda — Proyecto Inventario, Cuba
- Bastian Obermayer — Head of Investigations, Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Germany
- Benjamin Petit — Co-founder, Dysturb, France
- Beth Daley — Journalist, Boston, USA
- Beth Duff-Brown — John S. Knight Journalism Fellow alum, Stanford University, USA
- Dr. Bill Birnbauer — Adjunct Senior Lecturer, School of Media, Film and Journalism, Monash University, USA
- Bill Gentile — Journalist in Residence, American University, USA
- Blaž Zgaga — Freelance journalist, Slovenia
- Bob Drogin — Los Angeles Times, USA
- Bobby Block — Watchdog Editor, Florida Today, USA
- Borja Echevarría — Managing editor, El País, Madrid, Spain
- Brenda Payton — Newspaper columnist (retired), USA
- Bruce Brown — Executive Director, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP), USA
- Carlos Dada — Director, El Faro, El Salvador
- Carlos Eduardo Huertas — Director, CONNECTAS
- Carmen Aristegui — Journalist, Mexico
- César Ricaurte — Director, Fundamedios, Ecuador
- Chanda Chisala — President, Zambia Online, Zambia
- Charles Lewis — Executive Editor, Investigative Reporting Workshop, American University, Washington, D.C., USA
- Cheryl Devall — Independent wordslinger, storyteller and editor, USA
- Chloe Veltman — Reporter, KQED, San Francisco, USA
- Chris Vail — Photographer, USA
- Christian Zurita Ron — Editor, Mil Hojas, Ecuador
- Christy George — Independent public radio editor, Portland, Oregon, USA
- Colleen Barry — Milan correspondent, Associated Press (AP), Italy
- Cristian Alarcón — Journalist and author, Revista Anfibia, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Cristóbal Peñafiel Vaca — Journalist, El Universo, Ecuador
- Daniel Coronell — President, News, Univision, Miami, USA
- Daniel Santoro — Investigative journalist and courts editor/Periodista de investigación y editor del equipo de judiciales, Clarín, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- David Dow — CBS News correspondent (retired), CBS News, USA
- David Sarno — CEO, Lighthaus Inc., San Francisco, USA
- David Schrieberg — CEO and co-founder, VitalBriefing, Luxembourg
- Dean Starkman — Senior Editor, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Hungary
- Doug Stone — Communications consultant, Program Director of the World Press Institute , USA
- Drew Sullivan — Editor, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP),
- Sarajevo/Bucharest/Tbilisi/Washington
- Edouard Perrin — Investigative reporter, Premières Lignes Télévision, France
- Emilia Delfino — Deputy editor at Diario Perfil/Subeditora Diario Perfil, Argentina
- Emilia Díaz-Struck — Research Editor and Latin American Coordinator, International
- Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Venezuela
- Emilio Palacio — Journalist, Ecuador
- Ergun Babahan — Editor and columnist, Turkey
- Eric V Tait, Jr. — Co-Host/Producer, Media Watch, former 20/20 Producer (ABC Network TV News), USA
- Dr. Erich Vogt — University of Toronto, Canada
- Erick Muñiz — Journalist, La Jornada/AFP/ABC Noticias, Monterrey, Mexico
- Ernesto Aroche — Journalist, Lado B, Puebla, Mexico
- Ernesto Cortés Fierro — General editor, El Tiempo, Bogotá, Colombia
- Ernesto Tenembaum — Journalist, Radio con Vos, Infobae, El País, Argentina
- Fabián Werner — Director, Sudestada, Uruguay
- Felyx Márquez — Journalist, Mexico
- Fernando Rodrigues — Publisher, Poder360, Brazil
- Florencia Coelho — Lawyer, New Media Research and Training Manager, La Nación, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Francisco Goldman — Journalist and author, USA
- Frederik Obermaier — Investigative reporter, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Germany
- Fredrik Laurin — Investigative Editor, SVT, Swedish Public Television, Sweden
- Gábor Szabó — Journalist, Budapest, Hungary
- George Kennedy — Professor Emeritus, University of Missouri School of Journalism, USA
- Germán Rey — Researcher and professor, Fundación Gabriel García Márquez para el
- Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano (FNPI), Bogotá, Colombia
- Gilberto Lastra — Journalist, Mexico
- Glenn Frankel — Independent Author, former Washington Post journalist, 1989 Pulitzer Prize winner, USA
- Go Kawasaki — Independent journalist, Japan
- Gordon Earle — Associate Dean, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, USA
- Guilherme Amado — Vice-president, Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji) Brazil
- Guillermo Culell — Grupo Clarín, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Gumersindo Lafuente — Deputy director, eldiario.es, Madrid, Spain
- Gustavo Gorriti — Director, IDL-Reporteros, Peru
- Harriet A. Washington — Author, independent lecturer, Columbia University, USA
- Harry Karanikas — Investigative reporter, Protagon.gr, Greece
- Héctor Feliciano — Journalist and author, San Juan de Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico
- Henrietta Grant-Peterkin — former Knight Fellow, Stanford University, Scotland
- Hernando Álvarez — Global Content Hub Editor, BBC, London
- Hisham Allam — Investigative Reporter, Egypt
- Hugo Alconada Mon — Journalist, Argentina
- Ignacio Escolar — Director, eldiario.es, Madrid, Spain
- Inday Espina-Varona — Journalist, Former chair of National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, Philippines
- Iqbal Athas — Political Editor, The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka
- Dr. Istvan Wisinger — Communications professor, former President of the Association of Hungarian Journalists, Hungary
- Ixchel Cisneros Soltero — Journalist, Mexico
- Jacobo García — Journalist, El País, Mexico
- Jaime Abello Banfi — Director, Fundación Gabriel García Márquez para el Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano (FNPI), Cartagena, Colombia
- James F. Savage — Investigations editor (retired), Miami Herald, Ft. Lauderdale, USA
- James R. Bettinger — Director Emeritus, John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships, Stanford University, USA
- James Risser — Director Emeritus, John S. Knight Professional Journalism Fellowships, Stanford University, USA
- Janet Rae-Dupree — Freelance innovation journalist, Unboxed Media, USA
- Javier Darío Restrepo — Journalist, FNPI Ethics Program director, Fundación Gabriel García
- Márquez para el Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano (FNPI), Bogotá, Colombia
- Jean Cano — Journalist, Ecuador
- Jefferson Morgan — Journalist (retired), The Tribune and the Guardian, USA
- Jennifer Donovan — John S. Knight Fellow, Stanford University, USA
- Jeremy Hay — Independent journalist, USA
- Jerry Bier — Retired reporter, Fresno Bee, California, USA
- Jerry Jay Carroll — Author, journalist (formerly San Francisco Chronicle), USA
- Joan Úbeda — Producer, Mediapro, Barcelona, Spain
- Joanna Kiernan — Artist in Time Pictures, Los Angeles, USA
- João Pina — Freelance photographer, Lisbon, Portugal
- Johannes Kr. Kristjansson — Editor, Reykjavik Media, Iceland
- John Carlin — Journalist and author
- John Hansen — President of the Danish Federation for Investigative Journalists (FUJ), Senior investigative reporter, Politiken, Denmark
- Jon Lee Anderson — Staff writer, The New Yorker, USA
- Jonathan Kamman — National reporter (retired), The Arizona Republic, Phoenix, USA
- Joseph Neff — Investigative reporter, The Marshall Project, USA
- Joseph Poliszuk — Editor-in-chief and co-founder, Armando.info, Venezuela
- Juan Carlos Calderón Vivanco — Director, Plan V, Ecuador
- Juan Pablo Meneses — Journalist, Director, Escuela de Periodismo Portátil, Chile
- Judyth Hill — President PEN San Miguel Allende, Mexico
- Julia Preston — Contributing writer, The Marshall Project, USA
- Julia Stein — Vorsitzende/ Chairwoman, Netzwerk Recherche e.V., Germany
- Julie M. McCarthy — Southeast Asia Correspondent, Manila Bureau, National Public Radio (NPR), USA
- Juliette Garside — Investigations correspondent, The Guardian, UK
- June Carolyn Erlick — Editor-in-Chief, ReVista, the Harvard Review of Latin America, David
- Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Harvard University, USA
- Jyri Hänninen — Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle), Finland
- Karelia Vázquez Torres — Managing editor, Fashion & Arts Magazine, Spain/Cuba
- Karlijn Kuijpers — Investigative journalist, Platform Investico, The Netherlands
- Katherine Ellison — Independent journalist and author, USA
- Kathy Kiely — Lee Hills Chair in Free Press Studies, University of Missouri School of Journalism, USA
- Katie Palmer — John S. Knight Fellow, Stanford University, USA
- Keli Dailey — Adjunct, Saint Mary’s College of California, Creator News Hangover, San Francisco, CA USA
- Laura Weffer — Editorial Director, Efecto Cocuyo, Caracas/USA
- Leo Sisti — Investigative Reporter, L’Espresso, Italy
- Lou Dematteis — Former Reuters Photo Bureau Chief in Nicaragua
- Louis Freedberg — Executive Director, EdSource, Oakland, USA
- Luciana Villas-Boas — Journalist and literary agent, Brazil
- Lucina Kathmann — Honorary vice-president PEN San Miguel Allende, Mexico
- Lyas Hallas — Freelance journalist, Algeria
- Lynette Clemetson — Director, Knight-Wallace Fellowships for Journalists and the Livingston Awards, University of Michigan, USA
- Magali Tercero — President, PEN Mexico, Mexico
- Dr. Marcel Metze — Editor-in-chief, The Investigative Desk, The Netherlands
- Marcelo Soares — Founder, Lagom Data, Brazil
- Marcos García Rey — Investigative reporter, El Confidencial, Spain
- Margarita Martínez Escallon — Journalist and documentary filmmaker, Colombia
- Margot Williams — Journalist, Washington DC, USA
- María de la Paz Vela — Economics editor/Editora Macroeconómica, Gestión, Ecuador
- María Emilia Martin — Director, Centro GraciasVida Para los Medios de Comunicación, Antigua, Guatemala
- María Jimena Duzán — Journalist, Semana, Bogotá, Colombia
- Mariana Santos — Executive Director, Chicas Poderosas, Portugal
- Mariel Fitz Patrick — Investigative journalist, Infobae, Argentina
- Marina Walker Guevara — Deputy Director, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)
- Marion Arathoon — Independent content consultant, India
- Martha Roldós Bucaram — Executive Director/Directora Ejecutiva, Fundación Mil Hojas, Ecuador
- Martín Caparros — Journalist and author, Madrid, Spain
- Mary Aviles — Journalist, USA
- Matilde Suescun — Journalist, USA/Colombia
- Merval Pereira — Columnist, O Globo, Brazil
- Mely Arellano — Journalist, Lado B, Puebla, Mexico
- Michael Bilton — Investigative journalist, UK
- Michael Montgomery — Senior Reporter-Producer, Reveal, USA
- Michael Nikbakhsh — Investigative journalist, Profil Magazine, Vienna, Austria
- Michael Rezendes — Investigative journalist, USA
- Mike Keefe — Editorial cartoonist, The Colorado Independent, formerly The Denver Post, Mexico
- Milagros Salazar Herrera — Investigative journalist and director of Convoca, Peru
- Milorad Ivanovic — Editor, BIRN Srbija, Serbia
- Minna Knus-Galán — Investigative journalist, Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle), Finland
- Mohammed Komani — Data Editor, Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ), Yemen
- Mónica Almeida — Investigations editor/Jefe de Investigación, El Universo, Ecuador
- Mónica González — Director, Centro de Investigación e Información Periodística (CIPER), Santiago de Chile, Chile
- Natalie Southwick — Central and South America Program Coordinator, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York, USA
- Nathalie Alvaray — Local Digital News Manager, Univision, Venezuela/USA
- Natka Buturovic — Journalist, Bosnia
- Nelfi Fernández Reyes — Journalist, El Deber, Bolivia
- Norma Trujillo Báez — Journalist, Mexico
- Ola Westerberg — Reporter, TT News Agency, Sweden
- Orville Schell — Arthur Ross Director, Center on US-China Relations, Asia Society, USA
- Pamela Yates — Skylight Pictures, USA
- Paúl Mena Mena — Investigative journalist, El Universo, Ecuador
- Paul Radu — Director, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Romania
- Paulina Ríos — Journalist, Mexico
- Paulynn Paredes Sicam — Member, Women Writers in Media Now (WOMEN), Philippines
- Pedro Matías — Journalist, Mexico
- Pedro Zamora Briseño — Reporter, Proceso Magazine, Mexico
- Pelin Unker — Freelance journalist, Turkey
- Pete Carey — Journalist (retired), San Jose Mercury News, Palo Alto, USA
- Peter DiCampo — Co-President, The Everyday Projects, USA
- Peter T. Kilborn — Foreign and national correspondent (retired), The New York Times, Washington, DC, USA
- Rana Sabbagh — Executive Director, Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ)
- Ray Choto — Senior Editor, Zimbabwe
- Raymond Bonner — Former New York Times correspondent in Central America
- Relly Davidson — Administrative Assistant for the John S. Knight Fellowships for Professional Journalists (retired), Stanford University, USA
- Renata Cabrales — Journalist, Social media editor, Bogotá, Colombia
- Reyna Haydee Ramírez — Journalist, Mexico
- Ricardo Corredor Cure — Chairman, Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) board, Brussels, Belgium
- Ricardo Sandoval Palos — Investigations and longform editor, InsideClimate News, Washington DC, USA
- Rick Young — Producer/Director, PBS FRONTLINE, USA
- Rita Williams — Retired TV news reporter, Oakland, California, USA
- Robert Milliken — Freelance journalist, Sydney, Australia
- Robert Nickelsberg — Photojournalist, USA
- Roberta Oster Sachs — Former Stanford University Knight Professional Journalism Fellow
Communications Director, Richmond, VA, USA - Romina Mella — Journalist, IDL-Reporteros, Peru
- Rosa Santana — Journalist, Mexico
- Rosental Alves — Director, Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, University of Texas at Austin, USA
- Rui Araújo — Special Assignment Reporter, Televisão Independente (TVI), Lisbon, Portugal
- Russell W. Skelton — Director, RMIT ABC Fact Check, Melbourne, Australia
- Sandra Bartlett — Independent investigative journalist, Toronto, Canada
- Sandra Crucianelli — Data journalist, Bahía Blanca, Argentina
- Sarah Shourd — Journalist and Former Hostage, USA
- Scott Wallace — Associate Professor of Journalism, University of Connecticut, USA
- Seema Yasmin — Director, Stanford Health Communication Initiative, Stanford University, USA
- Sergio Ramírez Mercado — Writer and former vice president of Nicaragua/Escritor y ex vicepresidente de Nicaragua, Managua, Nicaragua
- Sharon Dirlam — Staff writer (retired), Los Angeles Times, USA
- Sharon Salyer — Reporter, The Herald, USA
- Sol Lauria — Journalist, Argentina/ Panama
- Stephen Grey — Special correspondent, Reuters, UK
- Stephen Kinzer — Former New York Times bureau chief in Nicaragua, USA
- Stephen Proctor — Journalist (retired), USA
- Steve Bradshaw — Freelance journalist and filmmaker, UK
- Suman Pradhan — Former journalist, Nepal
- Susan Meiselas — Photojournalist, Magnum Photos, USA
- Susan Trausch — Columnist (retired), Boston Globe, USA
- Susana Morán — Journalist, Ecuador
- Susanne Reber — Executive editor, Reveal, USA
- Sven Bergman — Reporter, Sveriges Television (Swedish Public TV), Sweden
- Tania Molina — Journalist, La Jornada, Mexico
- Tania Tinoco — Journalist, Ecuador
- Tayyeb Afridi — Managing Editor, Tribal News Network, Pakistan
- Ted Glasser — Professor Emeritus, Department of Communication, Stanford University, USA
- Témoris Grecko — Documentary filmmaker, Colectivo Ojos de Perro vs. la Impunidad, Mexico
- Teresa Montaño Delgado — Journalist, Mexico
- Timothy J. Johnson — Reporter, former Latin America correspondent, McClatchy, USA
- Titus Plattner — Investigative reporter, Vice Chair of ICIJ’s Network Committee, Tamedia, Switzerland
- Tom Davidson — Director, product design and experimentation, USA TODAY Network/Gannett, USA
- Tom Van de Weghe — Foreign Correspondent, Belgian VRT, Belgium
- Umar Cheema — Special Investigative Correspondent, The News, Pakistan
- Vania Pigeonutt — Journalist, Mexico
- Vicente Ordoñez Pizarro — Journalist, former president of National Union of Journalists of Ecuador, El Universo, Ecuador
- Walter V. Robinson — Editor At Large, The Boston Globe, USA
- Warief Djajanto Basorie — Freelance journalist, Jakarta, Indonesia
- William B. Brown — Newspaper editor (retired), USA
- Xavier Bonilla (Bonil) — Editorial cartoonist/Caricaturista, Ecuador
- Yasuomi Sawa — Senior News Writer, Kyodo News, Japan
- Yevgenia M. Albats — Editor-in-Chief & CEO, The New Times, Moscow, Russian Federation
- Yi-Shan Chen — Deputy managing editor, Commonwealth magazine, Taiwan
Source: Confidencial.com.ni
