Telecommunications in Paraguay - Censorship

The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the government generally respects these rights in practice. Individuals criticize the government publicly and privately, generally without reprisal or impediment. There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

Because of their reporting, journalists are on occasion subjected to harassment, intimidation, and violence—primarily from drug trafficking gangs and criminal syndicates based in departments bordering Brazil but also from politicians. In May 2011 Fermin Jara, a writer with the daily newspaper ABC Color, along with Carlos Bottino and Samir Sanchez, journalists with Radio Parque in Ciudad del Este, alleged that the governor of Alto Parana, Nelson Aguinagalde, sought to intimidate them. The journalists claimed that Aguinagalde threatened to “kill them with a machine gun” if they continued to criticize his administration. They also claimed that, at the request of Governor Aguinagalde, the radio programs hosted by Bottino and Sanchez were censored and later cancelled because of their refusal to stop their criticism of the governor.

Political officials often retaliate against media criticism by invoking criminal libel laws and suing the media to intimidate journalists and suppress further investigations. For example, in 2010 ABC Color managing director Aldo Zuccolillo faced criminal charges relating to defamation suits brought against him by former government officials. On April 7, authorities ordered him to pay 236 million guaranies ($59,000) plus interest for questioning the judicial decision that freed former president Luis Angel Gonzalez Macchi from prosecution. An appeal was pending at year’s end.