Venezuela: Suppression of Freedom of Expression, Opinion and Thought
The International Association of Broadcasters (IAB) reiterates its strongest condemnation and rejection of the systematic and brutal repression against Freedom of Expression and Human Rights in Venezuela.
The government of Nicolás Maduro has increased in the last hours the arbitrary arrests of journalists, without Due Process and without Constitutional guarantees, at the same time that it has radicalized the persecution and pressures against independent Media.
In its objective to eliminate not only Freedom of Expression but to suppress all types of opinion and free, critical and dissident thought, the regime of Nicolás Maduro has elaborated, to its own measure, new regulations aimed at criminalizing and abolishing organizations and Human Rights defenders, as well as preventing the free flow of ideas and opinions through Social Networks, through the criminalization of the use of Cyberspace by journalists, Media and the entire Venezuelan society.
The Decree that creates the “Consejo Nacional de Ciberseguridad” and the “Ley de Fiscalización, Regulación, Actuación y Financiamiento de las Organizaciones No Gubernamentales y Organizaciones Sociales sin Fines de Lucro” are clear examples of the attempt to control all types of thought and opinion, not only political but also scientific, social, educational and of any nature that may represent a “danger” to their objective of perpetuating themselves in power.
AIR demands the Maduro regime, the military and police authorities, as well as public agencies to respect the Constitution and Human Rights, and at the same time makes a strong call to the International Community and world leaders, to condemn with maximum firmness, the barbarism suffered in Venezuela, urgently demanding the return of Democracy to that country.