WHEREAS freedom of the press and expression continue to be under siege by the Nicolás Maduro regime
WHEREAS there were attacks against journalists, restrictions on access to public spaces, denial of information, arbitrary arrests, including two journalists that were detained for reporting on those affected by COVID-19, and that Ana Belén Tovar, Operations Manager of Venmedios, has remained in jail since November without being charged with any crime.
WHEREAS several radio stations were robbed, looted and their transmission equipment stolen or destroyed, and that others were closed under the excuse that their operating licenses expired
WHEREAS portals, web pages and the telephone service of numerous media were blocked; and that the personal accounts of journalists and media executives were hacked
WHEREAS the Maduro regime was one of the most active in the world in perpetrating technological attacks against the media and journalists
WHEREAS Principle 1 of the Declaration of Chapultepec establishes: "There are no free people or societies without freedom of expression and of the press. The exercise of this is not a concession from the authorities; it is an inalienable right of the people ".
The IAPA midyear meeting resolves
to condemn the systematic violation of the Nicolás Maduro regime to freedom of expression and of the press and to demand an end to the persecution of journalists, arbitrary arrests, attacks and closings of the media as well as the immediate release of journalist Ana Belén Tovar.
