The Union of Valencian Journalists presented this morning in a press conference the 2023 Freedom of Expression Awards that will be presented this afternoon at 7:30 p.m. in the Aula Magna of the La Nau Cultural Center of the University of Valencia.
This year the assembly of the Union of Journalists decided to award two Llibertat d'Expressió 2023 prizes. At the national level, the assembly awarded the Basque journalist, Pablo González, imprisoned in Poland for more than a year now, without trial and in isolation . González is accused of spying for Russia while covering the refugee crisis sparked by the invasion of Ukraine. Poland extended the preventive imprisonment for three more months that are about to end. The Unió de Periodistes demands the release of the journalist and the holding of a fair trial with guarantees.
In the international arena, it was decided to reward the Nicaraguan journalist, Carlos Fernando Chamorro Barrios, exiled from his country, for the second time, due to the political persecution carried out by the Daniel Ortega regime, which has persecuted and imprisoned hundreds of opponents and journalists since its inception. return to power in 2007, even stripping them of their Nicaraguan nationality. Carlos F. Chamorro has been present today in Valencia, coming from Costa Rica, to receive the award on behalf of all Nicaraguan journalists who are in the same situation.
Vicent Marco, president of the Unió de Periodistes, began the press conference by thanking the award-winners and their representatives for their presence at the event and explained the reasons that led the assembly of members of the Unió to choose these two candidacies . Marco has also added that in the case of Pablo González, the FAPE Assembly approved a resolution a few weeks ago to urge the government to take measures to guarantee that Pablo's human rights are respected, something that is not happening. at present and that their representatives have confirmed during their speech.
The president of the Unió briefly commented on the persecution suffered by the journalist Carlos F. Chamorro since 2007 and highlighted Chamorro's unwavering commitment to journalism and his ability to work to continue, for now, reporting on Nicaragua from exile, with all that this implies.
After these words, Marco gave the floor to Oihana Goiriena, Pablo González's partner, and Maribel Martínez, secretary of the organization FreePabloGonzalez.
“It has been more than a year and two months since Pablo was silenced, which prevented him from being where he is truly valuable, where the news happens. Today I am once again going to receive an award for freedom of expression on behalf of Pablo González, while he continues to be deprived of both, freedom and the right to express himself without censorship” stated Oihana Goiriena.
The representative of Pablo González has explained the conditions in which the journalist is in the prison in Poland, “he spends 23 hours a day locked up in a cell, without ventilation, without direct light and without contact with the outside world. I have only been able to visit him once, and for just a couple of months he has had direct contact with his trusted lawyer. At this time, he still has not been authorized to speak with his children. They have not heard from his father for 14 months, unable to understand what is happening, ”she related excitedly.
Goiriena ended his speech denouncing the little support received from the Spanish and European authorities and the lack of forcefulness when it came to pronouncing the terrible situation of the Spanish journalist. "I have said it on several occasions: we are not asking the government to take a position, only to fight because Pablo's basic rights are respected and because he is guaranteed a fair trial as soon as possible."
Maribel Martínez, secretary of the FreePabloGonzalez association, also spoke on behalf of Pablo González, an association created, as she explained, by Pablo's friends, colleagues who studied the master's degree in Journalism together and who know Pablo well and his commitment to profession, their generosity and solidarity. “Pablo González has covered a good part of the armed conflicts and social unrest that have taken place in the last decade in the post-Soviet space, even when no other media has considered it relevant. He is an authorized voice that should be contributing all the knowledge of him ”commented Maribel Martínez. "From our association we ask for a fair trial for him, where they give him a voice and let him explain himself, as well as dignified treatment and respect for his rights."
After the words of Maribel Martínez, the president of the Unió has given the turn to speak to the other winner, Carlos Fernando Chamorro who has traveled from Costa Rica to receive the award.
Carlos Fernando Chamorro has begun to recount the situation in Nicaragua after thanking this award and dedicating it to the Confidencial team, to the independent journalists of Nicaragua and to the memory of the journalist Ángel Gahona, assassinated in 2018 while covering some civic protests, and of José Ruben Zamora, director of the newspaper in Guatemala, who after being imprisoned for nine months, is today facing a trial that threatens freedom of expression in Guatemala. Chamorro has explained how since 2018 more than 600,000 Nicaraguans, 10% of the country's population, have had to go into exile. Among them, the Daniel Ortega regime withdrew their nationality last February from 316 Nicaraguan citizens, in an act that it described as "illegal, unconstitutional, and in violation of international treaties signed by the State of Nicaragua." On the list of 316 citizens there were 23 journalists, people linked to the media, now in exile, "convicted without any evidence for alleged crimes of 'conspiracy against national sovereignty', 'money laundering', and ' propagation of false news', some of them were in solitary confinement or under house arrest for up to 600 days” confirmed Chamorro.
This situation means that “at this time in Nicaragua there are no longer independent sources to whom information, data, or an assessment of the facts can be attributed. All without exception request that their identities be protected in order to inform or give their opinion, for fear of official reprisals, which include imprisonment. This double criminalization of freedom of the press and freedom of expression – to silence journalists, information sources, and freedom of opinion – represents the last stage of a long process of demolition of the rule of law”, continues the winner.
“However, journalism from exile resists as the last reserve of all the violated freedoms. The repression against journalists includes murders and physical assaults, television censorship, physical destruction of media, customs blockade of newspapers, culminating in the closure and confiscation of media outlets, the imposition of repressive laws, and the imprisonment of journalists. Since mid-2021, I have been in exile for the second time in Costa Rica, to avoid being silenced in Nicaragua with an infamous criminal accusation and arrest warrant. All of my writing, and practically all of the independent media, are working from exile. Exile is no longer a temporary emergency situation that forces us to leave and relocate to another country, but a permanent condition, in the medium term," Chamorro concluded.
Vicent Marco finished the press conference by recalling that the award ceremony will take place this afternoon at 7:30 p.m. in the Aula Magna de la Nau, which will be presented by the journalist Clara Castelló and that the president of the the FAPE, Miguel Angel Noceda.
