CPJ Urges Chilean Authorities to Stop Harassment of Journalists and Withdraw Legal Actions Against El Ciudadano and Contrapoder

Original article: CPJ pide a autoridades chilenas frenar el hostigamiento a periodistas y retirar querellas contra El Ciudadano y Contrapoder

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Chilean authorities to halt the harassment and intimidation faced by journalists from politicians and to withdraw the legal actions filed against independent media outlets such as El Ciudadano and Contrapoder.

«We are increasingly concerned about the misuse of lawsuits and the judicial powers in Chile, particularly criminal defamation lawsuits against journalists who report on public interest corruption allegations,» stated CPJ’s Americas Director, José Zamora.

«We urge officials to drop the latest lawsuits against El Ciudadano and Contrapoder and allow the media to report freely,» he added.

Founded in 1981, the CPJ is an independent, nonprofit organization based in New York City that promotes press freedom and defends journalists’ rights globally.

The governor of the Biobío Region, Sergio Giacaman, filed a complaint over a supposedly defamatory social media post by El Ciudadano in 2024, naming the current director of the newspaper, Javier Pineda, and the former director, Josefa Barraza, as defendants.

Barraza, who resigned from the outlet in March after facing multiple defamation lawsuits filed by politicians, explained to CPJ that the complaint stemmed from an image comparing Giacaman’s record with that of his political rival before the regional elections in November 2024.

Pineda noted that the publication in question has been removed from the newspaper’s Instagram account.

«There has been a public complaint of serious defamation with publicity presented by the governor of the Biobío Region against the former director of El Ciudadano, Josefa Barraza, and against me as the current director, due to a post made in 2024 on El Ciudadano’s Instagram,» he said.

He recalled that the Press Law provides means for clarifying or rectifying information published in the media and allows for protective actions for violations of honor rights. «However, Governor Sergio Giacaman has chosen to use the last resort tool of a serious defamation lawsuit, demanding the maximum penalty for such crimes, which is three years in prison,» he noted.

He argued that he is accused of an offense as the newspaper’s director that allegedly occurred before he took on his role.

«Furthermore, the link referenced in the complaint does not even contain the supposed defamatory publication. Nonetheless, Mr. Giacaman has decided to file a lawsuit against me, using the criminal justice system to threaten us with imprisonment,» Pineda emphasized in a video shared on his Instagram account and that of El Ciudadano.

Pineda explained that the Concepción Guarantee Court declared itself incompetent to hear the case, a decision that Giacaman’s lawyers have appealed.

«In the Concepción Guarantee Court, where I represented myself as a lawyer along with attorney Mauricio Daza, who defended Josefa Barraza, we achieved a small victory, as the court found itself incompetent to hear the case. However, Mr. Giacaman’s lawyers have appealed this decision, which will be addressed by the Concepción Court of Appeals in the coming days,» he affirmed.

Pineda extended a call to Chile Vamos, the coalition to which Mr. Giacaman belongs, and specifically to presidential candidate Evelyn Matthei, to refrain from pursuing independent press.

«They did not have the courage to sue the trolls associated with José Antonio Kast’s command (Republican Party) but are taking action against two directors of independent media. It is crucial to end the use of criminal law to punish the exercise of freedom of expression,» he stressed.

«We call on all human rights social organizations and alternative media to not silence our voices in the face of the criminal prosecutions and constant threats we receive from the right. From El Ciudadano, our commitment remains intact. We will continue to raise our voice to defend the right to inform and question power,» he concluded.

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Sichel’s Lawsuit Against Contrapoder

On another note, journalist Josefa Barraza told CPJ that on November 7, she received another criminal defamation complaint from Ñuñoa mayor Sebastián Sichel after the investigative outlet Contrapoder, which she founded this year, reported on corruption allegations against his administration.

In April 2024, Barraza was also sued for defamation by former congresswoman Andrea Molina over an article she wrote about her in El Ciudadano. The case was dismissed in June 2024, according to the journalist’s report to CPJ.

Email inquiries sent by the Committee requesting comments from Sebastián Sichel and Sergio Giacaman’s offices received no response, nor did the message directed to the Chilean Judiciary.