peru’s press Under siege: Journalists Face Escalating Threats and Violence
Lima, Peru - Hundreds of journalists in Peru have united to condemn a dramatic surge in threats and violence targeting the press, a crisis fueled by increasingly aggressive rhetoric from public officials and a climate of impunity. nearly 300 reporters issued a statement this month demanding greater protection and accountability following a wave of attacks, including direct threats on their lives.
The escalating danger is starkly illustrated by data from Peru’s National Association of the Press (ANP). Attacks against journalists – ranging from harassment to physical assault and death threats – have doubled as 2022. As of July, two journalists have been murdered and 180 assaults on journalists and media outlets have been recorded. Alarmingly, the ANP’s findings point to public officials, particularly those facing scrutiny for corruption, money laundering, and human rights abuses, as the primary aggressors.
“Those currently in power have repeatedly shown that their only priority is impunity,” the journalists’ statement reads. “For this reason, we call on the operators of the justice system to urgently and firmly defend fundamental rights.”
The crackdown appears to be a direct response to investigative journalism exposing wrongdoing. Milagros Salazar, a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and director of the Peruvian investigative outlet Convoca, notes a clear pattern. “There has been a strengthening of corruption and impunity networks of various politicians and figures being implicated in judicial investigations, and these cases were initially revealed by the press.”
Prominent journalists including Rosa María Palacios,
