Authorities and protesters target the press amid protests in Ecuador

[Judi Lynn]

October 9, 2019 5:50 PM ET

Miami, October 9, 2019—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on both the authorities and demonstrators in Ecuador to stop harassing and attacking journalists covering ongoing protests.

As protests against the Ecuadoran government’s move to end fuel subsidies enter their seventh day, journalists and media outlets continue to be targets of violence and attacks from the authorities and protesters, according to local media. As of October 8, Fundamedios, an Ecuadoran press freedom organization, had documented 59 violations against the press, including detentions, threats, and acts of violence.

Violence against journalists and press workers came from both the security forces--as CPJ documented on October 4--and from protesters and members of unions, social movements, and indigenous groups participating in the demonstrations, according to a joint statement by several Ecuadoran human rights organizations, including the Regional Foundation of Human Rights Consultancy (Fundación Regional de Asesoría en Derechos Humanos, or INREDH), the Ecuadorean Commission on Human Rights (Comisión Ecuatoriana de Derechos Humanos), the Observatory of Rights and Justice (ODJ Ecuador), and Fundamedios. Several journalists and outlets reported on Twitter that violence from protesters had prevented them from covering events, including foreign outlets such as Noticias Caracol, from Colombia.

“As events in Ecuador develop, it is of vital importance that authorities make sure that journalists can cover the demonstrations freely and without harm or retaliation from security forces, government officials, or demonstrators,” said CPJ South and Central America Program Coordinator Natalie Southwick in New York. “Groups participating in or policing the protests must understand the fundamental role that journalists play in reporting these events, and refrain from preventing or in any way obstructing the work of the press.”

More:
https://cpj.org/2019/10/authorities-and-protesters-target-the-press-amid-p.php