Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

LinkedIn

Email

Telegram



Daniel Ortega Saavedra, Presidente de la República de Nicaragua

Rosario Murillo Zambrana, Vicepresidenta de la República de Nicaragua

Presidencia de la República

Frente a Palacio Nacional

4 Calle Noroeste

Managua, Nicaragua 11001

January 7, 2019

Sent via email: presidencia@presidencia.gob.ni

To President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo:

We are journalists and press freedom advocates from Latin America and around the world who view recent developments in your country with deep concern. We write to express alarm over the recent escalation of aggression against media outlets and journalists covering civil unrest and documenting human rights abuses by police and paramilitary groups.

We strongly condemn the December raids on the offices of two major independent news outlets, and the detention of Miguel Mora and Lucía Pineda Ubau, journalists from independent cable and digital channel 100% Noticias, on multiple anti-state charges. These latest anti-press actions occurred shortly before the Christmas holiday, when many in the international community might typically be distracted; however, they did not go unnoticed.

Mora and Pineda, arrested during a December 21 police raid on the 100% Noticias offices in Managua and rushed through court appearances with no access to legal representation, stand accused of crimes including “inciting violence and hate” and “promoting terrorism.” The government has not presented any evidence to date to support the charges against these journalists, who took a lead role in their channel’s critical reporting over the last eight months. More than two weeks after their arrest, both journalists remain in pre-trial detention, and their channel is still banned from broadcasting.

Just a week before the raid on 100% Noticias, riot police ransacked the Managua offices of independent news website Confidencial and two affiliated television programs, all led by renowned journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro, and confiscated equipment and documents.

These are just the latest hostile acts capping off a year that saw dozens of attacks on the media, including the April 20 arson attack on Radio Darío in León and the April 21 death of reporter Ángel Eduardo Gahona, who was shot and killed on camera while reporting on protests in Bluefields.

The recent expulsion of two independent monitoring bodies set up by the Organization of American States (OAS) the day before one group was set to release a report on human rights violations during protests last spring is another disturbing example of your government’s disregard for transparency and international human rights norms.

We call for the immediate release of Miguel Mora and Lucía Pineda Ubau, and an end to actions designed to intimidate and shut down independent media. The office of the president, which exerts control over almost all aspects of government, must order police to stop raiding newsrooms, return all seized equipment and documents, and allow news outlets to work without fear of violent reprisal, interference, or arrest.

We call on you to respect international guarantees for freedom of expression and to cease harassing the independent press. A free and independent media is vital to the functioning of a healthy democratic society, in Nicaragua and throughout the Americas.

Sincerely,

Abbas Milani — Director of Iranian Studies, Stanford University, USA

Adela Navarro Bello — Editorial Director, ZETA Magazine, Mexico

Adriana Carrera — Editor and founder / Editora y fundadora, La Familia de Broward, USA

Adriana García — Projects director, Spaceship Media, USA

Alan Riding — Former New York Times correspondent for Mexico and Central America, Paris, France

Alan Rusbridger — Journalist and author, Former editor-in-chief of the Guardian, UK

Alberto Salcedo Ramos — Journalist and author, Bogotá, Colombia

Alejandra Conti — Journalist, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Alejandro Meléndez — Journalist, Mexico

Alex Grijelmo — Author, Director of UAM-EL PAÍS School of Journalism, Madrid, Spain

Alícia Ortega-Hasbun– Investigative reporter, Vice President of Grupo SIN/ El Informe, Dominican Republic

Alma Guillermoprieto — Journalist and author, Mexico/USA

András Kepes — Author, Professor of Media at Budapest Metropolitan University, Hungary

Ann Grimes — John S. Knight Journalism Fellow alum, Stanford University, USA

Anuška Delić — Investigative journalist, Oštro/OCCRP, Slovenia

Barbara E. Allen — Journalist, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Barbara Maseda — Proyecto Inventario, Cuba

Bastian Obermayer — Head of Investigations, Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Germany

Benjamin Petit — Co-founder, Dysturb, France

Beth Daley — Journalist, Boston, USA

Beth Duff-Brown — John S. Knight Journalism Fellow alum, Stanford University, USA

Dr. Bill Birnbauer — Adjunct Senior Lecturer, School of Media, Film and Journalism, Monash University, USA

Bill Gentile — Journalist in Residence, American University, USA

Blaž Zgaga — Freelance journalist, Slovenia

Bob Drogin — Los Angeles Times, USA

Bobby Block — Watchdog Editor, Florida Today, USA

Borja Echevarría — Managing editor, El País, Madrid, Spain

Brenda Payton — Newspaper columnist (retired), USA

Bruce Brown — Executive Director, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP), USA

Carlos Dada — Director, El Faro, El Salvador

Carlos Eduardo Huertas — Director, CONNECTAS

Carmen Aristegui — Journalist, Mexico

César Ricaurte — Director, Fundamedios, Ecuador

Chanda Chisala — President, Zambia Online, Zambia

Charles Lewis — Executive Editor, Investigative Reporting Workshop, American University, Washington, D.C., USA

Cheryl Devall — Independent wordslinger, storyteller and editor, USA

Chloe Veltman — Reporter, KQED, San Francisco, USA

Chris Vail — Photographer, USA

Christian Zurita Ron — Editor, Mil Hojas, Ecuador

Christy George — Independent public radio editor, Portland, Oregon, USA

Colleen Barry — Milan correspondent, Associated Press (AP), Italy

Cristian Alarcón — Journalist and author, Revista Anfibia, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Cristóbal Peñafiel Vaca — Journalist, El Universo, Ecuador

Daniel Coronell — President, News, Univision, Miami, USA

Daniel Santoro — Investigative journalist and courts editor/Periodista de investigación y editor del equipo de judiciales, Clarín, Buenos Aires, Argentina

David Dow — CBS News correspondent (retired), CBS News, USA

David Sarno — CEO, Lighthaus Inc., San Francisco, USA

David Schrieberg — CEO and co-founder, VitalBriefing, Luxembourg

Dawn E. Garcia — Director, John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships, Stanford University, USA

Dean Starkman — Senior Editor, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Hungary

Doug Stone — Communications consultant, Program Director of the World Press Institute , USA

Drew Sullivan — Editor, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Sarajevo/Bucharest/Tbilisi/Washington

Edouard Perrin — Investigative reporter, Premières Lignes Télévision, France

Emilia Delfino — Deputy editor at Diario Perfil/Subeditora Diario Perfil, Argentina

Emilia Díaz-Struck — Research Editor and Latin American Coordinator, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Venezuela

Emilio Palacio — Journalist, Ecuador

Ergun Babahan — Editor and columnist, Turkey

Eric V Tait, Jr. — Co-Host/Producer, Media Watch, former 20/20 Producer (ABC Network TV News), USA

Dr. Erich Vogt — University of Toronto, Canada

Erick Muñiz — Journalist, La Jornada/AFP/ABC Noticias, Monterrey, Mexico

Ernesto Aroche — Journalist, Lado B, Puebla, Mexico

Ernesto Cortés Fierro — General editor, El Tiempo, Bogotá, Colombia

Ernesto Tenembaum — Journalist, Radio con Vos, Infobae, El País, Argentina

Fabián Werner — Director, Sudestada, Uruguay

Felyx Márquez — Journalist, Mexico

Fernando Rodrigues — Publisher, Poder360, Brazil

Florencia Coelho — Lawyer, New Media Research and Training Manager, La Nación, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Francisco Goldman — Journalist and author, USA

Frederik Obermaier — Investigative reporter, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Germany

Fredrik Laurin — Investigative Editor, SVT, Swedish Public Television, Sweden

Gábor Szabó — Journalist, Budapest, Hungary

George Kennedy — Professor Emeritus, University of Missouri School of Journalism, USA

Germán Rey — Researcher and professor, Fundación Gabriel García Márquez para el Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano (FNPI), Bogotá, Colombia

Gilberto Lastra — Journalist, Mexico

Glenn Frankel — Independent Author, former Washington Post journalist, 1989 Pulitzer Prize winner, USA

Go Kawasaki — Independent journalist, Japan

Gordon Earle — Associate Dean, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, USA

Guilherme Amado — Vice-president, Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji) Brazil

Guillermo Culell — Grupo Clarín, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Gumersindo Lafuente — Deputy director, eldiario.es, Madrid, Spain

Gustavo Gorriti — Director, IDL-Reporteros, Peru

Harriet A. Washington — Author, independent lecturer, Columbia University, USA

Harry Karanikas — Investigative reporter, Protagon.gr, Greece

Héctor Feliciano — Journalist and author, San Juan de Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico

Henrietta Grant-Peterkin — former Knight Fellow, Stanford University, Scotland

Hernando Álvarez — Global Content Hub Editor, BBC, London

Hisham Allam — Investigative Reporter, Egypt

Hugo Alconada Mon — Journalist, Argentina

Ignacio Escolar — Director, eldiario.es, Madrid, Spain

Inday Espina-Varona — Journalist, Former chair of National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, Philippines

Iqbal Athas — Political Editor, The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka

Dr. Istvan Wisinger — Communications professor, former President of the Association of Hungarian Journalists, Hungary

Ixchel Cisneros Soltero — Journalist, Mexico

Jacobo García — Journalist, El País, Mexico

Jaime Abello Banfi — Director, Fundación Gabriel García Márquez para el Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano (FNPI), Cartagena, Colombia

James F. Savage — Investigations editor (retired), Miami Herald, Ft. Lauderdale, USA

James R. Bettinger — Director Emeritus, John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships, Stanford University, USA

James Risser — Director Emeritus, John S. Knight Professional Journalism Fellowships, Stanford University, USA

Janet Rae-Dupree — Freelance innovation journalist, Unboxed Media, USA

Javier Darío Restrepo — Journalist, FNPI Ethics Program director, Fundación Gabriel García Márquez para el Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano (FNPI), Bogotá, Colombia

Jean Cano — Journalist, Ecuador

Jefferson Morgan — Journalist (retired), The Tribune and the Guardian, USA

Jennifer Donovan — John S. Knight Fellow, Stanford University, USA

Jeremy Hay — Independent journalist, USA

Jerry Bier — Retired reporter, Fresno Bee, California, USA

Jerry Jay Carroll — Author, journalist (formerly San Francisco Chronicle), USA

Joan Úbeda — Producer, Mediapro, Barcelona, Spain

Joanna Kiernan — Artist in Time Pictures, Los Angeles, USA

João Pina — Freelance photographer, Lisbon, Portugal

Johannes Kr. Kristjansson — Editor, Reykjavik Media, Iceland

John Carlin — Journalist and author

John Hansen — President of the Danish Federation for Investigative Journalists (FUJ), Senior investigative reporter, Politiken, Denmark

Jon Lee Anderson — Staff writer, The New Yorker, USA

Jonathan Kamman — National reporter (retired), The Arizona Republic, Phoenix, USA

Joseph Neff — Investigative reporter, The Marshall Project, USA

Joseph Poliszuk — Editor-in-chief and co-founder, Armando.info, Venezuela

Juan Carlos Calderón Vivanco — Director, Plan V, Ecuador

Juan Pablo Meneses — Journalist, Director, Escuela de Periodismo Portátil, Chile

Judyth Hill — President PEN San Miguel Allende, Mexico

Julia Preston — Contributing writer, The Marshall Project, USA

Julia Stein — Vorsitzende/ Chairwoman, Netzwerk Recherche e.V., Germany

Julie M. McCarthy — Southeast Asia Correspondent, Manila Bureau, National Public Radio (NPR), USA

Juliette Garside — Investigations correspondent, The Guardian, UK

June Carolyn Erlick — Editor-in-Chief, ReVista, the Harvard Review of Latin America, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Harvard University, USA

Jyri Hänninen — Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle), Finland

Karelia Vázquez Torres — Managing editor, Fashion & Arts Magazine, Spain/Cuba

Karlijn Kuijpers — Investigative journalist, Platform Investico, The Netherlands

Katherine Ellison — Independent journalist and author, USA

Kathy Kiely — Lee Hills Chair in Free Press Studies, University of Missouri School of Journalism, USA

Katie Palmer — John S. Knight Fellow, Stanford University, USA

Keli Dailey — Adjunct, Saint Mary’s College of California, Creator News Hangover, San Francisco, CA USA

Laura Weffer — Editorial Director, Efecto Cocuyo, Caracas/USA

Leo Sisti — Investigative Reporter, L’Espresso, Italy

Lou Dematteis — Former Reuters Photo Bureau Chief in Nicaragua

Louis Freedberg — Executive Director, EdSource, Oakland, USA

Luciana Villas-Boas — Journalist and literary agent, Brazil

Lucina Kathmann — Honorary vice-president PEN San Miguel Allende, Mexico

Lyas Hallas — Freelance journalist, Algeria

Lynette Clemetson — Director, Knight-Wallace Fellowships for Journalists and the Livingston Awards, University of Michigan, USA

Magali Tercero — President, PEN Mexico, Mexico

Dr. Marcel Metze — Editor-in-chief, The Investigative Desk, The Netherlands

Marcelo Soares — Founder, Lagom Data, Brazil

Marcos García Rey — Investigative reporter, El Confidencial, Spain

Margarita Martínez Escallon — Journalist and documentary filmmaker, Colombia

Margot Williams — Journalist, Washington DC, USA

María de la Paz Vela — Economics editor/Editora Macroeconómica, Gestión, Ecuador

María Emilia Martin — Director, Centro GraciasVida Para los Medios de Comunicación, Antigua, Guatemala

María Jimena Duzán — Journalist, Semana, Bogotá, Colombia

Mariana Santos — Executive Director, Chicas Poderosas, Portugal

Mariel Fitz Patrick — Investigative journalist, Infobae, Argentina

Marina Walker Guevara — Deputy Director, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)

Marion Arathoon — Independent content consultant, India

Martha Roldós Bucaram — Executive Director/Directora Ejecutiva, Fundación Mil Hojas, Ecuador

Martín Caparros — Journalist and author, Madrid, Spain

Mary Aviles — Journalist, USA

Matilde Suescun — Journalist, USA/Colombia

Merval Pereira — Columnist, O Globo, Brazil

Mely Arellano — Journalist, Lado B, Puebla, Mexico

Michael Bilton — Investigative journalist, UK

Michael Montgomery — Senior Reporter-Producer, Reveal, USA

Michael Nikbakhsh — Investigative journalist, Profil Magazine, Vienna, Austria

Michael Rezendes — Investigative journalist, USA

Mike Keefe — Editorial cartoonist, The Colorado Independent, formerly The Denver Post, Mexico

Milagros Salazar Herrera — Investigative journalist and director of Convoca, Peru

Milorad Ivanovic — Editor, BIRN Srbija, Serbia

Minna Knus-Galán — Investigative journalist, Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle), Finland

Mohammed Komani — Data Editor, Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ), Yemen

Mónica Almeida — Investigations editor/Jefe de Investigación, El Universo, Ecuador

Mónica González — Director, Centro de Investigación e Información Periodística (CIPER), Santiago de Chile, Chile

Natalie Southwick — Central and South America Program Coordinator, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York, USA

Nathalie Alvaray — Local Digital News Manager, Univision, Venezuela/USA

Natka Buturovic — Journalist, Bosnia

Nelfi Fernández Reyes — Journalist, El Deber, Bolivia

Norma Trujillo Báez — Journalist, Mexico

Ola Westerberg — Reporter, TT News Agency, Sweden

Orville Schell — Arthur Ross Director, Center on US-China Relations, Asia Society, USA

Pamela Yates — Skylight Pictures, USA

Paúl Mena Mena — Investigative journalist, El Universo, Ecuador

Paul Radu — Director, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Romania

Paulina Ríos — Journalist, Mexico

Paulynn Paredes Sicam — Member, Women Writers in Media Now (WOMEN), Philippines

Pedro Matías — Journalist, Mexico

Pedro Zamora Briseño — Reporter, Proceso Magazine, Mexico

Pelin Unker — Freelance journalist, Turkey

Pete Carey — Journalist (retired), San Jose Mercury News, Palo Alto, USA

Peter DiCampo — Co-President, The Everyday Projects, USA

Peter T. Kilborn — Foreign and national correspondent (retired), The New York Times, Washington, DC, USA

Rana Sabbagh — Executive Director, Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ)

Ray Choto — Senior Editor, Zimbabwe

Raymond Bonner — Former New York Times correspondent in Central America

Relly Davidson — Administrative Assistant for the John S. Knight Fellowships for Professional Journalists (retired), Stanford University, USA

Renata Cabrales — Journalist, Social media editor, Bogotá, Colombia

Reyna Haydee Ramírez — Journalist, Mexico

Ricardo Corredor Cure — Chairman, Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) board, Brussels, Belgium

Ricardo Sandoval Palos — Investigations and longform editor, InsideClimate News, Washington DC, USA

Rick Young — Producer/Director, PBS FRONTLINE, USA

Rita Williams — Retired TV news reporter, Oakland, California, USA

Robert Milliken — Freelance journalist, Sydney, Australia

Robert Nickelsberg — Photojournalist, USA

Roberta Oster Sachs — Former Stanford University Knight Professional Journalism Fellow

Communications Director, Richmond, VA, USA

Romina Mella — Journalist, IDL-Reporteros, Peru

Rosa Santana — Journalist, Mexico

Rosental Alves — Director, Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, University of Texas at Austin, USA

Rui Araújo — Special Assignment Reporter, Televisão Independente (TVI), Lisbon, Portugal

Russell W. Skelton — Director, RMIT ABC Fact Check, Melbourne, Australia

Sandra Bartlett — Independent investigative journalist, Toronto, Canada

Sandra Crucianelli — Data journalist, Bahía Blanca, Argentina

Sarah Shourd — Journalist and Former Hostage, USA

Scott Wallace — Associate Professor of Journalism, University of Connecticut, USA

Seema Yasmin — Director, Stanford Health Communication Initiative, Stanford University, USA

Sergio Ramírez Mercado — Writer and former vice president of Nicaragua/Escritor y ex vicepresidente de Nicaragua, Managua, Nicaragua

Sharon Dirlam — Staff writer (retired), Los Angeles Times, USA

Sharon Salyer — Reporter, The Herald, USA

Sol Lauria — Journalist, Argentina/ Panama

Stephen Grey — Special correspondent, Reuters, UK

Stephen Kinzer — Former New York Times bureau chief in Nicaragua, USA

Stephen Proctor — Journalist (retired), USA

Steve Bradshaw — Freelance journalist and filmmaker, UK

Suman Pradhan — Former journalist, Nepal

Susan Meiselas — Photojournalist, Magnum Photos, USA

Susan Trausch — Columnist (retired), Boston Globe, USA

Susana Morán — Journalist, Ecuador

Susanne Reber — Executive editor, Reveal, USA

Sven Bergman — Reporter, Sveriges Television (Swedish Public TV), Sweden

Tania Molina — Journalist, La Jornada, Mexico

Tania Tinoco — Journalist, Ecuador

Tayyeb Afridi — Managing Editor, Tribal News Network, Pakistan

Ted Glasser — Professor Emeritus, Department of Communication, Stanford University, USA

Témoris Grecko — Documentary filmmaker, Colectivo Ojos de Perro vs. la Impunidad, Mexico

Teresa Montaño Delgado — Journalist, Mexico

Timothy J. Johnson — Reporter, former Latin America correspondent, McClatchy, USA

Titus Plattner — Investigative reporter, Vice Chair of ICIJ’s Network Committee, Tamedia, Switzerland

Tom Davidson — Director, product design and experimentation, USA TODAY Network/Gannett, USA

Tom Van de Weghe — Foreign Correspondent, Belgian VRT, Belgium

Umar Cheema — Special Investigative Correspondent, The News, Pakistan

Vania Pigeonutt — Journalist, Mexico

Vicente Ordoñez Pizarro — Journalist, former president of National Union of Journalists of Ecuador, El Universo, Ecuador

Walter V. Robinson — Editor At Large, The Boston Globe, USA

Warief Djajanto Basorie — Freelance journalist, Jakarta, Indonesia

William B. Brown — Newspaper editor (retired), USA

Xavier Bonilla (Bonil) — Editorial cartoonist/Caricaturista, Ecuador

Yasuomi Sawa — Senior News Writer, Kyodo News, Japan

Yevgenia M. Albats — Editor-in-Chief & CEO, The New Times, Moscow, Russian Federation

Yi-Shan Chen — Deputy managing editor, Commonwealth magazine, Taiwan