FOTP 2013 Full Report

In a victory over impunity for past crimes against journalists, a judge in May sentencedJonathan Martínez Castro to 30 years in prison for the murder of Channel 33 cameraman AlfredoHurtado in April 2011. The defendant and another man indicted in the case, Marlon AbregoRivas, who was still at large in 2012, are both members of MS-13. Hurtado had been coveringpolice operations against local gangs when he was shot to death. Citing Hurtado’s murder andthe intimidation aimed at El Faro, the Committee to Protect Journalists noted that the country’swidespread gang violence was posing a growing threat to Salvadoran journalists.There are four daily newspapers, but most of the country depends on privately ownedtelevision and radio networks for news. Limited resources prevent many media outlets fromproducing to their full capacity, and reporters often exercise self-censorship to avoid offendingmedia owners, editors, and government officials. Community radio has been stifled by the 1997Telecommunications Law, which does not recognize community media outlets. The law hasmade it all but impossible for such stations to obtain operating licenses. In a positive step, inMay 2012 the Association of Participatory Radio and Programming of El Salvador (ARPAS)signed a cooperation agreement with the Funes government that formally recognized theimportance of community radio to Salvadoran society and arranged for state-owned outlets tocarry community programming.Nearly 26 percent of the population accessed the internet in 2012, and there were noreported government restrictions on the medium. Online newspapers such as El Faro andContraPunto are known for their independent, investigative journalism.Equatorial GuineaStatus: Not FreeLegal Environment: 27Political Environment: 37Economic Environment: 27Total Score: 91Survey Edition 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Total Score, Status 89,NF 90,NF 90,NF 90,NF 91,NFThe regime of longtime president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo continued to clamp downon the media during 2012. Freedoms of expression and the press are legally guaranteed andassured in public declarations by Obiang, but these rights are ignored in practice. As in pastyears, the government relied on its extensive powers under the Law on the Press, Publishing, andAudiovisual Media to severely restrict journalistic activity. By law, the government hasprepublication access to press materials, which encourages self-censorship. There are no lawsguaranteeing freedom of information. Local journalists and private publications are required toregister with the government through a prohibitively complex and bureaucratic process.Almost all local coverage is orchestrated or tightly controlled by the government, andstate-controlled media do not cover international news unless the president or another seniorofficial travels abroad. Journalists in recent years have been permitted to voice mild or vaguecriticism of government institutions, but criticism of the president, his family, other high-rankingofficials, or the security forces is not tolerated. The media have been unable to report on the159