The Center for Monitoring Aggressions against Journalists of the Association of Journalists of El Salvador (APES) considers that freedom of expression and of the press went through a “critical state” during 2022 in the Central American country, governed under a regime of exception decreed by Congressat the request of President Nayib Bukele, since March.
The APES highlights as “serious” that this year 10 journalists and a communicator have been forced to leave the country. Two of them have gone into exile abroad after receiving threats from State officials and institutions for their journalistic work, indicates the balance released by the union.
“The year 2022 marked a critical point for the Salvadoran press, where illegal espionage, telephone hacking, arbitrary arrests, abuse of military and police power, anti-press legal reforms, as well as the departure of journalists from the country, were the most serious events recorded. ”, warns the APES report.
The annual balance also highlights the recurring cases of abuse of power by agents of the National Civil Police (PNC) and members of the Armed Forces of El Salvador (FAES) under the exception regime and the application of punitive legislation for coverage of the gang issue.
Those who are attributed powers such as retaining journalists during coverage, whether in cases of investigations for the media or in routine coverage in the urban areas of Greater San Salvador.
“It should be noted that in the cases of arbitrary detentions, where members of the PNC and FAES participate simultaneously, a power struggle has been identified between these groups to demonstrate who has the authority to restrict the right to freedom of the press, without have legal arguments,” APES said.
The investigations would indicate that the security officers claim that “within the framework of the emergency regime they have the authority to act against the press,” but no leadership of these State institutions has responded to the Salvadoran media to clarify these points.
The monitoring center counts the cases in 31 detentions, the most recent against three journalists from La Prensa Gráfica who were taking shots in the construction of the Tecoluca Mega Penalty, where the Salvadoran government has announced that it will increase the spaces to imprison more gang members.
In total, this year 125 attacks on journalists were recorded, a figure equal to that of 2020, but slightly lower than in 2021, when this same center counted 219 cases.
Pegasus and other raids
From January to December, the center recorded at least 28 cases of attempted hacking of WhatsApp accounts of journalists, chat groups, and the media, including the APES monitoring center.
An independent investigation warned at the beginning of the year that more than 30 Salvadoran journalists and media they were infiltrated between 2020 and 2021 by the Pegasus software, licensed only by governments. Among these were the teams from El Faro, Gato Encerrado, La Prensa Gráfica, El Diario de Hoy, Diario El Mundo, Revista Digital Disruptiva, among others.
The voice of america He requested a reaction to the APES report at the press office of the Presidential House in San Salvador, but there was no response.
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