Lawyers said that resolutions such as the one issued by the Constitutional Court (CC) last December, in which he rejected the appeal presented by several journalistic organizations that sought to stop criminal investigations against journalists from the missing person THE PERIÓTICOthey put freedom of expression at risk and can cause the use, not only among journalists, but also in citizens in general.
Given this resolution, eight press associations have also expressed rejection, stating that the issuance of thought is violated. In its ruling, the Court emphasizes the importance of maintaining a balance between freedom of expression and other rights, and emphasizes that any limitation to this right must be justified and subject to regulation.
It also determines that the existence of a real and imminently harmful threat to applicants has not been demonstrated. The actions taken by the authorities were within a framework of legality and could not be considered a direct limitation to freedom of expression at that time.
For the lawyer Edgar Ortiz, the issue is more serious than it seems, because it is freedom of expression, a right that journalists not only enjoy, but also the general population. “You should not worry only to the press, but any person,” he warns.
“In terms of demanding accounts from the government, the freedom to criticize the authorities is fundamental. The Constitution, in article 35, takes a more protective position than in other countries, because it establishes that the criticism of officials is not lacking or crime, ”he said.
He added: “The limits of expression are broader when we talk about public issues. If journalists were subject to criminal proceedings, the consequence would be self -censorship. To the extent that people think less, the government is happy. What is sought is to cool the debate and prevent officials from being criticized. ”
“The CC does not order to chase journalists, but it does,” says Ortiz, who also argues that the printing trial should prevail. The lawyer adds that this type of resolutions not only affects journalists, but also the general population, because freedom of expression is punished as a whole.
Forgotten resource
The lawyer Esteban Celada Flores, a member of the company for dignity and justice, affirms that the printing courts have been forgotten and that “there is an abuse by carrying everything by criminal proceedings.”
“Printing courts have been left without use. Everything is being resolved through criminal law, and that is worrying. All existing mechanisms should be exhausted before resorting to criminal law, but we see otherwise, ”he said.
Celada points out that, although in the sentence the CC appeals to the dignity, morals and intimate life of people, focusing on public officials and employees, “try to say that it is not the same to do journalistic investigation than to attack or treat, in any case, to coerce from aspects of the private life of people.”
With this resolution, according to Celada, “it seems that the Court tries to set limits to freedom of expression, especially when they are related to the dignity of people.”
The lawyer believes that the journalistic notes that the Periómico published and for which it is sought to process journalists should be analyzed. However, he argues that this task should be in the hands of experts in press release, so that the printing courts were valued and the case will not be handled with lawyers or criminal judges.
“We know that there is a criminalization not only of journalists, but also of human rights defenders and justice operators, and that, in the end, it can affect anyone,” he says.
He adds that one must also ensure that a sentence can be restricted and, in any case, to criminalize any attempt to control journalists, who, in their opinion, are also human rights defenders and are the ones who, in the first instance, know how to find the information and “transmit the truth.”
“That is why there are courts of different natures, and the MP does not have to intervene in all areas of the country, because, otherwise, there would be excessive use of criminal law,” he said.
Danger
According to the former chancellor Gabriel Orellana, this process leaves much to think, mainly because of the criminal action that arises, and is questioned how far the freedom of the press and the free issuance of thought are respected by the “entity that has the criminal action in Guatemala.”
“I was very surprised that it was the Constitutional Court that would issue this resolution, which, in my opinion, does not adjust anything more and nothing less than a law of constitutional rank,” he said.
“It seems to me a very precedent, because it remembers the examples given by the countries that currently have authoritarian governments and that have begun to try to silence the opinions,” Orellana added.
He emphasizes that these messages should be avoided, because they only generate fear in the journalistic guild and in the citizenship that simply wants to comment.
“We have to be very careful and very jealous of this freedom, because it can be lost very easily. Obviously, a message is sent to society that your freedom of expression cannot fully exercise, ”he concluded.