Abuse of the State´s Power obstructed the work of the press during the elections

In the course of April 2013, coinciding with the presidential elections which took place in Venezuela, the Instituto Prensa y Sociedad de Venezuela (IPYS Venezuela), an NGO the purpose of which is the promotion and defense of the freedom press in this country, was witness to the disproportionate use of the state´s power against the work of a plural and independent press. In this framework of conflictivity and social polarization, there has also been hostility by players in various political party sectors against journalists and the media.

From the start of the elections campaign up until the week after the elections, there have been 48 cases of attacks against freedom of expression and information, for a total of 84 breaches, predominantly obstructions against the work of the journalists due to the abusive use of the state´s power, principally by the state´s security forces, officials of the National Elections Council (in Spanish, Consejo Nacional Electoral or CNE for its acronyms) and executive authorities. Limitations were also evidenced on the coverage of public affairs, arbitrary arrests, physical aggressions/assaults, attacks against media headquarters, cyber-attacks, intimidation and persecution, administrative and judiciary procedures and censorship. These incidents run counter to the warranties of freedom of expression and information as set forth in articles 57 and 58 of the constitution of the Bolivarian republic of Venezuela and other international human rights protection instruments.

During this time period, IPYS Venezuela reported 77 victims, most of which were reporter crews from private, state-owned and community media. Also affected were 15 private media, 3 public and community media, 2 NGOs and 3 state institutions.

The city with the most events was Caracas, the nation´s capital, where 11 cases were reported, followed by Lara state (6); Barinas (4); Zulia (4); Táchira (4); Aragua (3); Mérida (2); Bolívar (2); Monagas (2); Carabobo (2); Cojedes (2); Falcón (1); Portuguesa (1); Miranda (1) and Anzoátegui (1), plus three Internet attacks. The majority of incidents recorded coincided with activities and conflicts reported in the streets of several of the nation´s cities during the elections watershed.

IPYS Venezuela expresses its concern over the increase in attacks against the press all over the nation, since the persons who do journalistic work in Venezuela are in a situation of high vulnerability. The 48 cases reported during the elections represent 43% of total incidents registered during 2013, there being 115 additional cases from January to April according to the permanent monitoring in the field of freedom of press conducted by IPYS Venezuela. In turn, we have witnessed an excessive increase in hostility against the press when comparing the aforementioned figure to the 200 cases reported in 2012.