A draft of Castillo’s “gag law” raises fears in Peru

First modification: 07/08/2022 – 02:32Last modification: 07/08/2022 – 02:30

The project is called a “gag law” by groups of journalists and media owners, who affirm that the purpose of the leftist president is to prevent the publication of the progress of the investigations into alleged corruption that the Prosecutor’s Office is carrying out against him and his political and family environment.

In the coming weeks, the Constitution Commission of Congress, chaired by opposition Fujimorist Patricia Juárez, will have to decide whether to file the controversial project or give it the go-ahead to go to plenary, which in this case would have the last word.

The Peruvian Congress, dominated by the right-wing opposition, keeps sleeping all the other projects (about thirty) sent by Castillo in his 11 months of government.

However, the alarms of the press unions seem to be a sign that the right-wing factions are willing to contribute the votes to approve the “gag law”, in order to also silence the investigations for alleged corruption against opposition figures, among them Keiko Fujimori.

three years in jail

The head of the ministerial cabinet, Aníbal Torres, has denied that it is a “gag law” and maintains that this project seeks to protect the “fundamental rights” of any person investigated by the Justice.

“It is not right that a person for the simple fact of having been denounced, and the prosecution removes the information, the press (…). Who will correct us after this?” said Torres, who signed with Castillo this controversial project sent this week to Congress.

Article 1 of the project typifies “the crime of dissemination of confidential information in criminal investigations”, which implies reforming article 409 of the Peruvian Penal Code.

The purpose, according to the text, is “to safeguard the confidential information to which one has access due to the position or function carried out by the justice operators and the procedural parties.”

Whoever leaks classified information will be punished with one or two years in prison. But the penalty is raised to three years if it is done by “a judge, prosecutor, judicial assistant, administrative assistant, assistant in a fiscal role or member of the Police.”

not the first

The Peruvian Press Council, which brings together the companies that own the media, expressed its categorical rejection of this “obscurantist” project, but recalled that it is not the first in the country.

“This bill protects those who are currently involved in corruption cases, facts that deserve to be known by all Peruvians,” the Council said in a statement.

“It also implies retaking a Fujimorist practice of the dissolved Congress [en 2019]where a similar bill was promoted, and another attempt in the current Congress in March of this year,” he added.

Lawyer Roberto Pereira, legal adviser to the NGO Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS), assured that “the bill is clearly unconstitutional.”

Pereira warned that although the aim is primarily to silence judges, prosecutors and police officers, “journalists can be included in criminal proceedings as accomplices or instigators.”

For its part, the National Association of Journalists stated that “if it becomes law, it would seriously affect the right to information and the fight against corruption.”

During a visit to Lima in May, the special rapporteur on freedom of expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Pedro Vaca, indicated that the Peruvian press had denounced restrictions on reporting.

“We see very sensitive, valuable information about obstructions and restrictions for the coverage of state management in general,” he told reporters. “It is not a good sign that states are hermetic.”

“We have received complaints about the Executive and Legislative Power,” he added, noting that he was going to “encourage” the Peruvian authorities so that “international standards are met.”