Attacks on the Press in 2010 - Committee to Protect Journalists

Americas: Country Snapshotscountry snapshots<strong>Attacks</strong> and developments throughout the regionBolivia»»In October, President Evo Morales signed a measure named the LawAgainst Racism and All Other Forms of Discrimination. Under Article16 of the law, “any media outlet that endorses or publishes racist ordiscriminatory ideas will be liable to economic sanctions and thesuspension of its operating license.” Article 23 stipulates that individualjournalists and media owners seen as spreading such ideas facea prison sentence of one to five years and “will not be able to claimimmunity or any other privilege.” CPJ sent a letter to the presidentexpressing concern that vague language in the two articles could beused to punish legitimate journalism and may promote self-censorshipin the press.Canada»»Canadian authorities interrogated, beat, and denied entry to journalistsintending to cover the Olympic Games and the G-20 summit ofworld leaders. Police struck Jesse Rosenfeld, a contributor to London’sGuardian newspaper, in the stomach and back as they forced him tothe ground in Toronto where he was covering a demonstration relatedto the G-20 summit. John Weston Osburn, a Salt Lake City freelancejournalist with the U.S. news organization Indymedia, was interrogatedand denied entry by Canadian border authorities on February9 due to a past U.S. conviction for a misdemeanor, according to newsreports. He was on his way to cover protests related to the OlympicGames. A second journalist, Martin Macias Jr., a contributor to theonline news outlet Vocalo, was detained and questioned for two hourson February 6, before being turned away and put on a plane to Seattle,according to The Huffington Post. Macias was planning to attend apress conference by the Olympic Resistance Network, a group criticalof the games.Chile»»Chilean police arrested freelance reporter Marcelo Garay Vergara inSantiago on September 11 as he left his house for an assignment, newsreports said. Officers alleged that Garay did not comply with a courtsummons issued in a pending criminal case. The journalist told local117