During this period, there were no significant incidents of press freedom.
During this period, there were no significant incidents of press freedom.
At the end of October, the national elections were held in which the members of the Parliament were defined, but the absolute majority required to elect the President of the Republic was not reached. A month later, the popular verdict gave the victory to the opposition Frente Amplio, whose ticket was headed by the current President, Yamandú Orsi.
Despite the climate of normality, it cannot be ignored that specific latent threats generate concern and force careful vigilance on freedom of the press and the right of citizens to seek, disseminate, and access information without limits.
The dark clouds are perceived on the side of Justice, especially of the prosecutors' offices, since they have been pointed out in the press as political-partisan militants. Some prosecutors have a somewhat restrictive perception of the scope of freedom of expression. More than three years ago, a prosecutor was denounced for having raided a radio station and tried to seize the cell phone of a journalist in an attempt to identify his sources of information without taking into account the confidentiality of sources, which is guaranteed by law.
Another case, denounced by the IAPA and brought before the Attorney General's Office, is about the continuous threats and "warnings" received by journalist and researcher Alfonso Lessa, who made a report for TV on the well-known "Feldman Case" (2009), in whose house he had an arsenal without any justification, despite which the case was closed and buried, according to the journalistic investigation. This issue is still pending, and no progress has been made even though both the prosecutor's office and the police were provided with exact information about the people who harassed the journalist.
Another alarming issue that has been denounced politically is the "leaks" with political and ideological bias of cases in the hands of prosecutors, either directly or through the actions of operators with a journalist's license.
There is also a specific proliferation of lawsuits against journalists and media before Civil Justice, in cases for information on public figures or for disseminating news of tremendous and proven public interest, with the interest of using Justice to muzzle and intimidate journalists and media.
