Miami (February 5, 2024) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) denounced the decision of Peru's National Police to demand public apologies and threaten a defamation lawsuit against the La República Group for a journalistic cartoon that used satire to criticize the actions of members of the force. IAPA urged the entity to abandon its attempt to sue the editorial group and to show greater tolerance for dissent.
On Friday, the Commander General of the National Police of Peru (PNP, in Spanish), General PNP Víctor Zanabria, sent a notarized letter to the La República Group and the cartoonist Carlos Tovar Samanez, known as "Carlín," demanding apologies to the police for the cartoon, according to press reports.
"It is requested that, within 48 hours of receiving this letter, you provide the corresponding apologies to the National Police of Peru and rectify the cartoon... Otherwise, I will be forced to initiate the corresponding legal actions," states the letter signed by the head of the Peruvian police, published by La República on its website.
The document cites Article 132 of the Penal Code on defamation and demands an immediate and proportional rectification within 48 hours, under threats of legal action otherwise, as reported by La República.
"The police reaction is entirely disproportionate," said Roberto Rock, president of IAPA and director of the Mexican portal La Silla Rota. "We denounce the threat of a lawsuit and consider a demand for rectification inadmissible, in the face of a legitimate exercise of the right to criticize. Authorities must withdraw the lawsuit immediately to avoid causing serious harm to freedom of expression in Peru," Rock demanded.
According to the Associated Press, the illustration that generated controversy was published on Tuesday by La República and depicted three police officers with a caption each: "Criminal in police uniform," "criminal police officer," and "police officer who fulfills his duty." The police issued a rejection statement against the cartoon, which had gone unnoticed until then, claiming that it had offended the police force.
"Filing legal actions for damage to institutional image violates freedom of expression and the press and ignores that public officials are subject to greater public scrutiny," said the president of the IAPA Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Carlos Jornet, editorial of the Argentine newspaper La Voz del Interior.
The cartoon aims to reflect the sentiment that exists in a part of the population based on news indicating the involvement of some police officers in various criminal activities.
Rock and Jornet recalled that the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) establishes, in its principle 11, "Public officials are subject to greater scrutiny by society. Laws that penalize offensive expressions directed at public officials, generally known as 'desacato laws,' restrict freedom of expression and the right to information."
Press freedom defense groups in Peru, the Council of the Peruvian Press (CPP), the Press and Society Institute (IPYS), and the National Association of Journalists (ANP), which have rejected the police's attitude, have endorsed the statement made today by the IAPA.
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.
