JAILING JOURNALISTS IN LATIN AMERICA

Reporters in Latin America are still dodging bullets. Of 26 journalists
killed worldwide in 1997, 10 were in Latin America, according to the
Committee to Protect Journalists. But an arrest warrant is a more common
danger. Government officials are bringing criminal charges against
journalists who report on official crime and corruption, giving
intimidation a legal veneer.

In Peru, one current target is an investigative reporter, Jose Arrieta.
While at Si magazine, Mr. Arrieta reported that a death squad run by the
Government's intelligence services committed a notorious massacre in 1992.
One of his sources even led him to the bodies. Mr. Arrieta moved to a
television station, Channel 2, where he broke more stories about murder,
torture and illegal wiretapping by the intelligence services.

Last year the Government of Alberto Fujimori reovoked the Peruvian
citizenship of Channel 2's owner, Israel-born Baruch Ivcher, and put the
station in the hands of its own supporters. An arrest warrant was issued
accusing Mr. Arrieta of falsifying his stories. A courageous judge knocked
it down. But. Mr. Arrieia , certain the Government will try again, is in
Miami applying for political asylum.

The most widespread form of intimidation is to charge reporters with
defamation, a criminal offense in most of Latin America. Last year two New
York Times reporters were charged by the Mexican Government, which
frequently uses this law against reporters, but the charges were dropped.
Panama has turned the law against Gustavo Gorriti, an editor at the
newspaper La Prensa. Irritated by his reporting on drug corruption, the
Government tried to deport Mr. Gorriti, who had moved to Panama after being
kidnapped by the security services in his native Peru. When that failed,
Panama revived what appears to be a spurious case against him for defaming
a government official and falsifying evidence. He faces a six-year
sentence if convicted.

The spread of drug corruption has made Latin governments particularly eager
to curb investigative reporting, but pressures for a free press are also
growing. One source is public opinion, as the media are respected and
trusted in many countries. The White House has spoken out strongly. So
has the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of
American States. Its rulings have repeatedly defended free speech, and
recently it established a special rapporteur to investigate violations of
press freedom.

Overturning restrictive laws, however, is not enough. Governments are able
to use the courts against reporters because judicial independence is a
fiction in many countries. Independent journalism is only possible with an
independent judiciary.