Freedom House condemns the attack on Peruvian journalist Juan Carlos Yaya Salcedo after he exposed government irregularities in the municipal of Nuevo Imperial through his reporting, and calls for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding his attack and for authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Issues:
Freedom of Expression, Internet Freedom, Media Freedom
Freedom House today released a public letter urging Peruvian president, Ollanta Humala, not to grant a presidential pardon to ex-President Alberto Fujimori, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for crimes against humanity.
The world was outraged when a 14-year-old girl in Pakistan was shot in the head last week simply for being an ardent advocate for the right of girls to an education. Unfortunately, Malala's case is not an isolated one. In most parts of the world today, individuals and organizations working to advance social, political, and environmental justice face imminent danger as a result of their work. In the past two months alone, a 70-year-old activist in Cambodia was sentenced to 20 years in prison because he challenged the government's policy of confiscating local land for powerful corporate interests; in southern India, police used live ammunition on villagers protesting against a proposed nuclear power plant; a human rights lawyer opposing the creation of special economic development zones was shot dead in Honduras; and in the United Arab Emirates, an outspoken critic of inhumane treatment of political prisoners was assaulted in the street twice and faced government surveillance.
Freedom House is concerned by reports that journalists from local and national Peruvian media outlets were assaulted on June 14 by police while covering clashes between anti-mining protesters and police in the city of Cajamarca. Protesters were on their 15th day of a strike against the Conga mining project.
