Lima, Peru (October 18, 2011).- The President of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), Gonzalo Marroquín, condemned the sanction applied by the government of Venezuela against the television channel Globovisión, consisting of a fine of 7.5% of its gross revenues in 2010, for reporting on the take-over of the El Rodeo prison last June.
Marroquín said that “the sanction is part of a government strategy to close the Globovisión channel under cover of legality.” He added that it is a matter of “a new act of aggression against the independent press of Venezuela, which unmasks the attitude that the government has always held against freedom of the press.”
Marroquín, Siglo 21, Guatemala, added that “we are facing a mechanism of apparent legality and legitimacy, but which in fact has nothing legal about it; it is a dictatorial measure.”
The facts became known to the IAPA moments after the end of the working sessions of the 67th General Assembly of the institution, in which reports and resolutions were approved about freedom of the press in each country of the American hemisphere.
In statements made over the Venezuelan channel, the Vice President of Globovisión, María Fernanda Flores, said that the fine assessed by Conatel “is unpayable and means the bankruptcy of the station.” According to news sources, the fine would amount to around $2 million.
The sanction has to do with the dissemination of news by Globovisión of the take-over of the prison and statements made during the events by family members, who were considered to have brought about the disturbance of public order; the sanction is based on the law on Social Responsibility on Radio and Television.
The IAPA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the defense and promotion of freedom of the press and of expression in the Americas. It is made up of more than 1,300 print publications from throughout the Western Hemisphere and is based in Miami, Florida. For more information please go to http://www.sipiapa.org.
