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Post tagged in "press freedom"

UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Calls for Release of Guatemalan Journalist José Rubén Zamora

Posted on July 1, 2024

July 2, 2024 – The ongoing detention of Guatemalan investigative journalist José Rubén Zamora is arbitrary and violates international law and he should be released immediately, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said in a decision made public on Monday.   Zamora, the founder and former editor of independent newspaper elPeriódico, has been detained since his arrest in July 2022 for alleged financial crimes. In June 2023, he was sentenced to six years in prison and a fine for alleged money laundering. The Vance Center and numerous other rights organizations have criticized the trial proceedings for multiple violations... read more

Our Year in Review: 2023 at the Vance Center

Posted on January 5, 2024

Upholding Core Elements of Democratic Governance  An Independent Judiciary: Working closely with the Latin American Federation of Judges (FLAM) and other national and regional partners, the Latin America Policy Program continued to call out threats to judicial independence and support judges in asserting their key role as defenders of democracy. Our actions included a thematic hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on threats to judicial independence, publishing country-level assessments of judicial independence in seven countries, and continuing to pursue justice for exiled Guatemalan judge Erika Aifán.  Spotlight: Inter-American Dialogue on Judicial Independence  The IACHR hearing inspired an... read more

Reporters Shield Admits Inaugural Members

Posted on January 18, 2024

In December and January, Reporters Shield admitted the first group of independent investigative news outlets as official members. As members of Reporters Shield, these news organizations will receive support and services, such as pre-publication review of qualified stories, and will be eligible to receive legal defense and assistance to defend against eligible legal threats and lawsuits.  To date, Reporters Shield, an initiative of the Vance Center and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), has received dozens of applications from prospective members around the world, indicating a significant need and demand for its work. Reporters Shield staff will continue reviewing... read more

Vance Center Expands Press Freedom Work with New Funding, New Clients

Posted on December 20, 2023

Reporters Shield   The Vance Center expanded the capacity of its Reporters Shield program thanks to a generous grant from the Oak Foundation.   The first-time grant from the Oak Foundation has helped the Vance Center organize and manage the legal components of Reporters Shield – critical steps toward building a network of lawyers and law firms to facilitate pro bono representation of investigative journalism around the world. This funding also crucially supports the Vance Center’s continued institutional growth, including through enhanced communications and fundraising capacities. Reporters Shield and the Vance Center’s work to defend press freedom aligns with the Oak Foundation’s... read more

Reporters Shield Joins UNESCO Panel on SLAPPs

Posted on November 7, 2023

On November 3, Green participated in a panel entitled “Strategic lawsuits against public participation: a mechanism for silencing the press under the guise of legality.” The multi-lingual panel, which featured speakers in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, was part of a series of events to commemorate UNESCO’s International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, held on November 2-3 at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington D.C.   Green detailed the dangers that these lawsuits, known as SLAPPs, pose to investigative reporters and outlets around the world. She introduced Reporters Shield to the audience of press... read more

Reporters Shield Highlighted at Conferences on Human Rights, Investigative Journalism

Posted on October 13, 2023

Vance Center Executive Director Alexander Papachristou at the ABA’s Human Rights and Rule of Law Summit, September 6, 2023. Photo: Vance Center Vance Center Executive Director Alexander Papachristou participated in a panel discussion as part of the American Bar Association’s first Human Rights and Rule of Law Summit, hosted at the New York City Bar Association on September 6. During the panel, entitled “Defending Human Rights Defenders,” Papachristou and the other speakers – Ginna Anderson, associate director of the ABA’s Center for Human Rights; Mooya Nyaundi, Advocacy Director on US-Africa Foreign Policy at Open Society Foundations-US; and Sirikan Charoensiri, co-founder... read more