Original article: Denuncian ante la CIDH campaña de Milei contra la prensa: acusan uso del aparato estatal para hostigar a periodistas

Human Rights Groups File Complaint with CIDH Over Milei’s Campaign Against Press, Accusing State Apparatus of Harassment

International and Argentine organizations, including the Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS), SiPreBA, Fopea, and Amnesty International, have filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH) of the Organization of American States (OAS), denouncing a campaign against the press orchestrated by the government of Australia’s President Javier Milei. This campaign allegedly utilizes state apparatus to harass journalists.

During a public hearing as part of the 194th session of the CIDH, held this Wednesday at the University of Miami in the United States, representatives from these organizations documented a «systematic and planned» campaign orchestrated by the so-called «libertarian» administration. This campaign reportedly includes hate speech, physical repression, judicial persecution against journalists and media workers, and the institutional dismantling of public media.

The hearing featured testimonies from journalists and union representatives who have faced harassment and intimidation actions initiated by the far-right president since his inauguration in December 2023.

The hearing also addressed a tweet from Milei in which he stated, «We do not hate journalists enough.» Organizations pointed out that such rhetoric normalizes and enables both physical and symbolic violence against communicators.

«It is urgent that this Commission demands the Argentine State ensure the conditions necessary for practicing journalism and condemns the use of state apparatus to harass the press,» stated Julia Mengolini, a journalist, lawyer, and founder of FutuRöck radio, in comments collected by TeleSUR.

«I am here to tell you what it means to live and work under a government that uses state power to pursue, humiliate, and silence through orchestrated hate campaigns from the highest levels of power, marking enemies, spreading lies, and destroying reputations. In my case, in June of this year, I was a victim of an unprecedented defamation and digital violence campaign,» she accused.

The communicator recounted that artificial intelligence was used to create false images and videos with sexual content about her, and that she received hundreds of threats of sexual assault and death, even against her six-year-old daughter. «The president himself amplified those attacks by posting nearly 100 messages against me in just four days, mocking me publicly and justifying the violence by saying I deserved it,» she detailed.

Additionally, she recalled being criminally charged after reporting on a labor dispute at Garrahan Hospital. However, the case was dismissed by the court, as were two other complaints filed by Milei against her. «The violence was not spontaneous: it was a state strategy of discipline to punish criticism and generate fear,» she asserted.

She noted that female journalists face specific harassment, including sexualized insults, threats to their families, and smear campaigns.

«The implicit message is to remind us that, despite our role in the public sphere, our place is still that of an object of desire and ridicule,» she emphasized.

Argentine journalist Hugo Alconada Mon, known for his investigative work on corruption and espionage, mentioned the harassment he endured for publishing an article on the libertarian government’s plans for illegal espionage against politicians, opponents, economists, social movements, and journalists.

He detailed that after informing a government interlocutor that he would maintain the publication of the article, he became a victim of «ten hacking attempts on my WhatsApp, two attempts on my email account, and two attempts on my X account.»

«Then they started with insults and threats from four different phone numbers to my cell phone. Finally, they registered me on various commercial and financial pages, through which they may have purchased products,» he described, noting that he had been registered under his name on four pornographic websites, prompting him to file a criminal complaint, as reported by Nodal.

Dismantling of State Media

From the Buenos Aires Press Union (SiPreBA), they denounced the dismantling of state media, freezing salaries, and discretionary allocation of funding.

«The consequences are closures or downsizing, less plurality and diversity of voices, and reduced freedom of expression,» they detailed.

One of the examples that illustrates this complaint is the Télam news agency, which has been stripped of its editorial capacity, while its journalists have been displaced and its funding reduced.

Likewise, media outlets such as Radio Nacional, Public Television, and educational and cultural channels have experienced salary freezes, staff loss, and the closure of several of their programs.

«They Attack the Press Because They Want to Destroy the Social Role of Communication»

Before the CIDH, SiPreBA denounced the violence exercised against reporters covering protests and social mobilizations against the libertarian government.

In these mobilizations, security forces have used rubber bullets, tear gas, and psychoactive grenades against cameramen, photojournalists, and producers.

Union members referred to the attack suffered by photographer Pablo Grillo on March 12, 2024, who is still recovering from being shot with a tear gas grenade launcher.

«They attack press workers because they want to destroy the social role of communication, which has the capacity to question power and an exclusive economic, social, and political model,» denounced Francisco «Paco» Rabini, elected deputy secretary of SiPreBA.

In his statements, he posited that it is the first time in Argentina’s democratic history that a campaign of attack against journalists is orchestrated, directed, and encouraged from the highest levels of power.

Call to the CIDH to Ensure Safe Conditions for Press

After exposing the situation of state intolerance towards dissent and the use of institutional mechanisms to restrict public debate and enable harassment, organizations and journalists urged the CIDH to monitor the repressive context in Argentina.

They also submitted a formal request to the Commission to publicly condemn the use of state apparatus to harass the press; demand that the Argentine State guarantee safe conditions for journalism; oversee compliance with international obligations regarding freedom of expression; and investigate the responsibility of high-ranking officials in inciting violence against communicators.

The hearing before the CIDH laid bare an alarming picture of restrictions on press freedom in Argentina, with concrete consequences for citizens’ right to information and the health of democracy. The international body must now address the measures to protect journalists in the southern nation against Milei’s harassment.