Miami (February 23, 2022) - The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) condemned the home harassment of two Peruvian journalists and called on the authorities to create a better security climate for those who report on social demonstrations from the scene.
Gustavo Gorriti, director of the investigative portal IDL Reporteros, denounced that leaders of the group calling itself La Resistencia incited on social media to commit acts of violence against him. According to the organization IPyS, members of this group hurled insults and displayed defamatory banners against him in front of his home on February 21.
Also, in retaliation for his publications, the La Resistance group appeared in front of the house of Rosa María Palacios, host, and director of the podcasts "Sin Guión" and "A Pensar Más," whom the group accuses of being a terrorist.
The National Press Association (ANP, in Spanish) registered 153 attacks against journalists in the last few months. The aggressions came indistinctly from the police and protesters during the social unrest shaking the country.
Michael Greenspon, president of the IAPA, condemned the attacks. Greenspon, global director of Licensing and Print Innovation of The New York Times, USA, asked the Peruvian government to "implement urgent measures to protect journalism, especially in times of political crisis, when the population needs to have diverse sources of information."
Carlos Jornet, chairman of the IAPA's Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information and editor of the Argentine newspaper La Voz del Interior, condemned the new method violent groups seek to intimidate journalists. "Going to journalists' homes represents a new form of lynching."
It is not the first time IAPA has denounced aggressions in front of journalists' homes. For example, in June 2021, the organization repudiated the harassment against the publisher of La República, Gustavo Mohme. At that time, the attack was carried out by supporters of former presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori.
The latest IAPA Chapultepec Index report shows that Peru dropped from 7th to 11th place on press freedom climate among 22 countries of the American continent. "Today, the exercise of journalism is more vulnerable to attacks. It is of great concern that these attacks come from government players and third parties," the Index highlighted.
The IAPA officers agreed that journalism in Peru had become a risky profession. Recent figures on press freedom violations reveal that "journalists are the target of attacks by demonstrators and law enforcement agents, who have gone from verbal to physical aggression."
IAPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending and promoting freedom of the press and expression in the Americas. It comprises more than 1,300 publications from the western hemisphere; and is based in Miami, Florida, United States.
