In a statement marking President Alejandro Giammattei’s third year in office, APG registered 117 attacks in 2022 aimed at “censoring, criminalizing and attacking voices criticizing and distracting from the current authoritarian regime”.
This, he warned, has led to a policy of terror and persecution of journalists and the media.
According to the source, the Giammattei government’s actions include attacks on and restrictions on journalistic freedom, judicial harassment, restrictions on reporting, mainly in the judiciary and the presidential office, and two cases of forced banishment/expulsion.
Altogether, according to APG, there have been 404 attacks on the press in the three years of the current government.
“One of the main patterns already normalized by this administration is judicial harassment by filing false complaints, judicial censorship to prevent publications on certain subjects or mention of certain officials, and subpoenas to testify journalists for their work.” , he reported to the club.
He recalled that, to this end, Giammattei has the full support of the Supreme Court, whose judges remain in office irregularly, and the Attorney General Consuelo Porras, who is dedicated to falsifying lawsuits against communicators.
As an example, he cited the criminalization of José Rubén Zamora, president of elPeriódico, an act with which the prosecutor’s office and the presidency are trying to shut down this medium, one of the most critical of the government, he said.
In the text, APG expressed concern that judicial harassment and restrictions on information sources will increase in this election year in order to create an “anti-democracy” image in the press.
In addition, he called on international organizations and the community in general to closely monitor the situation of human rights and freedom of expression in Guatemala, which may suffer more serious setbacks under the power of the Vamos party in recent months.
The text published today largely contradicts the idyllic situation on the subject outlined in the General Report of Giammattei’s third year in office at the National Palace of Culture, with much praise for the so-called 2022 Year of Achievements. .
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