IAPA demanded that the Nicolás Maduro regime respect the free exercise of journalism in Venezuela

The SIP Thursday asked the Venezuelan authorities to release detained journalists and to comply international standards that protect the "free exercise" of journalism in conflict zones.

"With the daily insult against the right of peoples to freedom of badembly and against the freedom of journalists to perform their duties, (Nicolás) Maduro's government is undressing more and more like an oppressive dictatorial regime, who is trying to cling to power with more repression and violence, "said the president of SIP, María Elvira Domínguez, director of El País newspaper in Cali, Colombia.

In a statement, the SIP, based in Miami, mentions by name all the journalists, foreigners and Venezuelans, who were arrested and prevented from doing their job in Venezuela in the last month, among which three from the EFE agency, which were released this Thursday.

It's about Colombians Mauren Barriga and Leonardo Muñoz and Spanish Gonzalo Domínguezarrested Wednesday with Venezuelan motorist José Salas.

The President of SIP and Roberto Rock, chairman of the press and information freedom committee and director of La Silla Rota portal in Mexico City, demanded that the "chavis regime" "respect the freedom of the press and the free exercise of journalists in conflict zones or in daily reports".

"These rights," they said, "emanate from declarations and conventions of entities such as the Organization of American States and the United Nations and constitute a substantial part of the Democratic Charter. inter-American, to which Venezuela is committed to comply ".

In reference to the Chapultepec Declaration which is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary this year, both have stressed that IAPA denounces the "atrocities of Chavez" against the press since 1999.

"Even at a time when Venezuela was not in the spotlight, we denounce this regime that proved undemocratic. for the harsh repression that has always exercised against the freedom of the press "they stressed.

The SIP, a non-profit organization dedicated to the defense and promotion of freedom of the press and expression in the Americas, includes more than 1,300 publications from the Western Hemisphere.

The journalists Rodrigo Pérez and cameraman Gonzalo Barahona The TVN public channel in Chile and the EFE Agency team were arrested by the Chavez authorities and were released after a few hours.

The French were also arrested Pierre Caillet and Baptiste des Monstiers, program reporters Daily of the French channel TF1and his local producer Rolando Rodríguez, as well as Venezuelans Maiker Yriarte, from TV Venezuela and Ana Rodríguez, of VPItv, indicates the SIP.

This month, they were also temporarily detained Rodrigo Lopes, special envoy to Caracas group RBS from Brazil and Venezuelan journalists Osmary Hernándezcorresponding of the chain CNNand Beatriz Adrián, correspondent of Caracol Noticias de Colombia.

As far as journalists Jesús Medina Ezaine, from the site Dolar todayand Billy Six, German independent documentaryist are still imprisoned since last year.

According to the National Union of Venezuelan Press Workers, in just two days, 11 journalists were arrested.