By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASILIA, Brazil – A report issued by the International American Press Association (IAPA) has declared that Argentina, Ecuador and Venezuela were the most dangerous countries for journalists and the free press.

Early on October 9 Argentina’s top TV Journalist was imprisoned in a Venezuelan airport backroom. Jorge Lantata a critic of the Venezuelan and Argentinean political regimes was detained along with his crew. During their detention they had their camera, computer and cellphone data erased before being allowed to leave the nation. Just hours after covering the Venezuelan election they were interrogated and accused of espionage by Venezuela’s secret service.

The disappearing and intimidation of journalists and dissidents in Latin America is no new event. Many countries from South America have a history of trouncing on the men and women who tolerate and preserve freedom of the press. Colombia for example has seen 54 murdered journalists in the past decade. Yet while civil liberties are being broadened in the hemisphere, freedom of the press still faces many obstacles. After meeting in San Paolo Brazil the 68^th General Assembly of IAPA released a survey that 67% of journalists in the region thought that freedom of the press was at risk in the hemisphere, while 82% of journalists in Venezuela believe that the press is most at risk under newly elected President Chavez.

The IAPA continued that 13 journalists have been murdered in the past six months in Mexico, Honduras, Brazil and Ecuador “[F]or the simple fact that they were doing their work.” They continued that the press is being intimidated at times for informing the people “On issues relevant to the national and international public.”

The threats facing the freedom of the press is not simply violence and threats, but the government institution that creates statutes and regulations help to stifle a free press. There are major factors threatening freedom of speech including impunity in cases involving free press violations, censorship and the relationship between journalists and the governments they report on.

The IAPA accused the presidents of Venezuela, Argentina and Ecuador of silencing independent journalists in their respective countries. Jaime Mantilla the new president of the IAPA explained that the governments do this “Through regulatory legislation, discrimination in official advertising, and immense state-run and private media mechanisms used to slander and carry out dirty campaigns.”

In 2011 four journalists were killed in Brazil, 3 in Peru and one each in Colombia and Paraguay.

For further information, please see:

ABC News – Press Group Says Violence Threatens Americas Media – 16 October 2012

Infosur Hoy – IAPA: Argentina, Venezuela, Ecuador Most Hostile To American Journalism – 15 October 2012

El Universal – IAPA Survey: Press Freedom In Venezuela Is At Risk – 15 October 2012

The Guardian – Venezuelan Secret Service Erased Our Data, Claims Journalist – 8 October 2012

The Guardian – 24 Journalists Killed In Latin America In 2011 – 6 January 2012

By Margaret Janelle R. Hutchinson
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay – Late last month Uruguay’s Lower House contemplated and passed legislation that would give women the right to an elective abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and decriminalize later-term abortions when the mother’s life is at risk or when the fetus is so deformed that it wouldn’t survive after birth.  Wednesday that bill also narrowly passed in the Senate, by a vote of 17 to 14.

President José Mujica has openly supported the legislation. Alberto Breccia, a top aide to Mr. Mujica, said Wednesday that the president had no plans to veto the bill, almost ensuring that it would become law by early November.

If it does become law, it would be the second of its kind in South America; Guyana allows elective abortion up until the 8th week of pregnancy.

Uruguay is already considered one of the most liberal countries in South America.  It was the first nation to officially separate the state from the Catholic Church in the early 1900’s and President Mujica has also discussed the possibility of legalizing marijuana in the tiny country.

Uruguay may be geographically small, but pro-choice advocates hope this potential law will make a big impact on neighboring nations.  Although there have been many advances in terms of sexual rights in South America – most notably with Brazil and Argentina legalizing same-sex unions in 2004 and 2010, respectively – abortion is extremely divisive.

Just last week the Argentinian Supreme Court issued a ruling granting an abortion to a women rescued from a prostitution ring.  Even though Argentina allows abortion in the case of rape, a lower court judge had blocked the procedure claiming there was no proof of rape.

Véronica Pérez, a political scientist at Montevideo’s University of the Republic says,

“In terms of the reactions and conflicts [abortion and same-sex marriage] provoke in society,” pushing same-sex unions isn’t the same as advocating the legalization of abortion. For same-sex marriage or gay adoption, for some men it’s like ‘that’s OK, I don’t like it much but it doesn’t affect my rights.’ On the other hand, a woman’s decision to interrupt her pregnancy strikes at the core of masculine decision-influencing power.”

Chile, considered the most conservative country in the region, outright bans abortion even in the case of rape.  Chile only legalized divorce in 2004.

This week’s vote was the third time the bill has been introduced in the Uruguayan Parliament and the Senate’s final vote tally of 17 in favor and 14 against shows how divisive the issue remains. A previous bill was approved in 2008, but then-President Tabaré Vázquez vetoed it.

For further information, please see:

The Christian Science Monitor – Uruguay’s Senate approves abortion bill: Will there be a ripple effect? – 19 October 2012

TIMEWorld – Uruguay Diverges From a Continent Where Abortion is Worse Than Rape – 19 October 2012

BBC News – Uruguay legalises abortion – 17 October 2012

The New York Times – Uruguay Senate Approves First-Trimester Abortions – 17 October 2012

The Wall Street Journal – Uruguay Senate Legalizes Abortion – 17 October 2012

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

LIMA, Peru – The family of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori has requested a humanitarian pardon from his extended sentence due to health problems.

His family has requested that his four concurrent sentences be commuted due to complications from mouth cancer and resulting lesions that may not have healed properly.

The former President led Peru from 1990-2000 and is credited with the dismantling of the terrorist group the Shining Path as well as reining in destabilizing hyperinflation. His administration is not without blemishes as his authoritative leadership included the operation of death squads that killed citizens and corruption. His third presidential candidacy election was constitutionally challenged and it was only by a large corruption scandal that ex-President Fujimori was finally brought down from power.

After being brought down, Fujimori fled to Japan, who refused to extradite him. Declared “morally unfit to govern” by the Peruvian congress, he returned to Chile in 2005 where he was placed under house arrest and extradited to Peru in 2007.

By 2009, special tribunals had convicted him and found him guilty of multiple human rights scandals and sentenced him for a number of charges. His largest sentence? 25 years for authorizing the operation of death squads that killed or disappeared numerous citizens.

Human Rights Watch has requested that the President of Peru take great care in determining whether or not to grant the medical pardon. While well within the wheel house of political powers weld by the President. The Peruvian Constitution requires that any pardons need to be in accordance with international treaties ratified by Peru. And international law dictates that the duty to investigate and punish perpetrators of human rights abuses cannot be undermined by pardons and immunities. Without extreme care, a pardon even for medical care could come off as contrary to human rights law and the international community.

While the request to pardon the former president is being analyzed by a commission “without any ‘politization’ and impartially” the former Health Minister, Luis Solari has raised concerns. Soalri claims that according to the medical certificates, Fujimori would not even qualify for such a pardon. One can be pardoned if they are at serious and imminent risk of losing life. Solari continues that Fujimori is not at risk of losing his life due to complications and his cancer is not in fact “terminal cancer.”

All in all the decision will come down to current President Ollanta Humala who was elected to the position over opponent and petitioner Keiko Fujimori, daughter of Alberto Fujimori.

For further information, please see:

El Comercio – Request For Pardon To Fujimori Is Analyzed With “No Politicization,” Said Justice Minister – 16 October 2012

El Comercio – “Fujimori Medical Certificates Are Not Accurate,” Said Former Minister Solari – 15 October 2012

Human Rights Watch – Peru: Humala Shouldn’t Give Fujimori Special Treatment – 11 October 2012

CNN – Family Seeks Pardon For Former Peruvian Leader – 10 October 2012

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – The Argentinian Supreme Court issued a ruling late Thursday night which granted an abortion to a women rescued from a prostitution ring.

Argentina like most South America heavily identifies itself as Roman Catholic and 95% of all abortions that take place in the continent are illegal. Yet in March 2012 the Supreme Court ruled that abortions in the case of rape or pregnancies that threaten the women’s life are legal. Buenos Aires has since drafted regulations in order to implement that ruling, limiting the abortions to within the first 12 weeks of gestation of a rape victim’s pregnancy.

The 32 year old women, whose name has been withheld for security reasons had been kidnapped and forced in sexual slavery. Upon her rescue the women made the decision to go against her faith and the protests of her family and terminate her pregnancy.

However this would not be a private affair as controversy stirred up when anti-abortion activists identified the woman and protested outside her home, and then again at the hospital.

What was supposed to be Buenos Aires first legal abortion under the new abortion regulations turned into a spectacle of legal arguments and demonstrations from both sides of the debate. Scheduled for Tuesday, moments before surgery was supposed to take place the anti-abortion group “Pro-Family” received an injunction from a judge effectively stopping the procedure. The judge claimed that there had been no evidence of rape.

For another three days, the woman was forced to wait in what Amnesty International calls “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.” Debates on both sides of the argument stirred as the judge’s decision was appealed to the Supreme Court. Soon after the Supreme Court overturned the lower judge’s decision the trafficked woman was in the hospital despite numerous nurses and doctor’s refusal to take part.

Argentina’s Health Ministry made sure to clarify that abortion was indeed legal in certain circumstances and there would be no punishment for those who carried out the procedure.

Proponents for abortion call this a victory for women’s rights. In 2007 The National Health Research Program and the Ministry of Health of the Nation produced research that showed there were approximately 450,000 to 600,000 illegally performed abortions in Argentina.

The battle in Latin America continues, currently only Cuba has authorized full and legal abortions for its citizens. However, next week Uruguay will continue its legislative action and is expected to legalize elective abortion.

For further information, please see:

Today Online – Rape Victims Struggle To Get Legal Abortions In Argentina – 14 October 2012

La Nacion – They Have 5 Hospitals For Abortion – 13 October 2012

The BBC – Argentinian ‘Sex Slave’ Allowed Abortion After Ruling – 12 October 2012

CNN – Argentine Court Allows Abortions In Rape Cases – 14 March 2012

Pagina 12 – The Figures For Open Debate – 2 June 2007