Miami (November 28, 2012).—An announcement by Argentina’s Grupo Clarín media group that it is reversing its call for six journalists to be witnesses included in a lawsuit it has filed for alleged “incitement to violence” was welcomed today by the Inter American Press Association (IAPA).
The Buenos Aires newspaper Clarín let it be known earlier today that its legal representatives will ask the courts to not even call on the journalists as potential witnesses in the suit.
“We are pleased that Grupo Clarín has reconsidered and recovered the true significance of the practice of freedom of expression. We feel that to rectify an erroneous action as in this case is also a healthy democratic practice,” declared Claudio Paolillo, chairman of the IAPA’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information.
The IAPA had yesterday rejected the inclusion of journalists Roberto Caballero, Sandra Russo, Javier Vicente, Nora Veiras, Edgardo Mocca and Orlando Barone as the media group’s witnesses in the lawsuit filed last week against government officials alleging “incitement to violence and aggravated coercion.”
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.
