UNP criticizes limitations to inform of indigenous justice

Last Thursday, the National Union of Journalists (UNP for its Spanish acronym) issued a statement rejecting the verdict of the Constitutional Court (CC), held last Wednesday, in which it is stated that permission shall be required to indigenous communities before publishing information relating to justice applied in those places.

“The National Union of Journalists of Ecuador rejects the inexplicable decision of the Constitutional Court on the journalistic work, in the judgment in the case of La Cocha, to establish prior censorship on the news broadcast of the causes of indigenous justice,” states the text.

“The decision of the CC is part of the malicious communication strategy of the current government, which aims to control the media, to limit the work of journalists and official truths delivered to citizens.”

“The UNP argues that this strategy, which now has a law and enforcement agencies and ‘commissioners’ to impose fines and penalties on the media, continues in its mission to discredit private media and instill fear and undermine the credibility of journalists,” the statement concludes.

Indigenous justice in Ecuador consists in several kinds of punishments, like public baths with freezing cold water, and lashing.