On this edition of Your Call’s Media Roundtable, we discuss the state of emergency in El Salvador, following a rise in gang violence. The measure restricts the freedom of the press and suspends civil liberties, including the right to assembly and access to a lawyer. More than 17,000 people have been arrested since the measure was declared a month ago.
According to El Faro, a leading investigative digital news outlet, earlier this month, President Nayib Armando Bukele also ordered changes to the Penal Code, which press advocates warn will censor journalism about gangs and impede news outlets from questioning the official narrative on issues such as security policy and the government’s secret negotiations with the gangs.
Guest:
Anna-Cat Brigida, freelance journalist in Latin America
Web Resources:
Al Jazeera: Surge in gang killings spurs fear, uncertainty in El Salvador
The Intercept: As Salvadoran Leaders Tout A Safer Country, More People Are Going Missing
Committee to Protect Journalists: New El Salvador law threatens up to 15 years in prison for reporting on gang
Elfaro: Will the State of Exception Be the New Normal?
Human Rights Watch: El Salvador: Sweeping New Laws Endanger Rights
Al Jazzera: El Salvador NGOs challenge criminalisation of gang reporting
