Fundación LED (Libertad de Expresión + Democracia) is worried about journalist Teresita Dussart who had to seek consular protection at the diplomatic missions of Belgium and Spain in our country as a consequence of being harassed after revealing details of the case of Prosecutor Alberto Nisman´s death.
Dussart, of Belgian-Spanish ancestry, was one of the first journalists to point out in her blog http://relacionesinternacionales.co the inconsistencies between the statements of the bodyguards of the deceased Prosecutor.
This was the beginning of her harassment by different media with a government-sympathizing editorial line, accusing her of being at the service of foreign intelligence agencies.
The degree of virulence of those who are intent on discrediting this media worker has gone as far as considering Dussart an “enemy” who must be repelled.
All this made the Belgian Ambassador in Argentina voice his concern about this case and request the Foreign Office to guarantee the journalist´s security.
Indeed, only a few weeks ago, Buenos Aires Herald journalist Damián Pachter (who was the first to break the news about Prosecutor Nisman´s death) decided to go into self-exile when he felt threatened.
The Government reacted by using the Administration´s Twitter account to reveal details of Pachter´s Aerolíneas Argentinas airline tickets. The Inter American Commission on Human Rights then issued a statement pointing out that “it is the duty of public officials to repudiate clearly, publicly and firmly any attacks perpetrated in reprisal for the exercise of freedom of expression” and urging the authorities “to guarantee the work done by the press.”
This new case, in which pressure is put on a journalist by discrediting, harassing and threatening her, is a clear limitation to the exercise of freedom of expression and of press set forth in the Argentine Constitution and in the international treaties incorporated in it.
Fundación LED will follow up on this case and will strive for the relevant international agencies to hear about it, just as it will keep on doing its job for our society as a whole to understand the importance of independent journalism in any democratic society.
20/02/2015