January
24, 2018
Bundesnachrichtendienst
Mr.
Thilo Kunzemann & Mr. Dirk Hensel
The
Inter American Press Association (IAPA), a non-profit organization dedicated to
promoting freedom of expression in the Americas, expresses our support of
reporter Hans-Peter Firbas, who claims he is a victim of censorship by public
authorities in your country.
The
situation involves reports on public television Deutsche Welle about the pardon
granted to former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori by current President
Pedro Pablo Kucynski.
Firbas,
a member of our group since 1981 and who has German-Peruvian citizenship,
explained that - after denouncing more than a month ago what he considered
biased information management by Deutsche Welle - his blog and the YouTube
channel were censored.
Both services were no rehabilitated, however, to this
day retaliation continues for denouncing as an infringement on the judicial
regime of the media of Germany, an arbitrary procedure on a subject of
international public interest.
IAPA observes with uneasiness the coincidence of the
reported reprisal. In
the interest of clarifying whether there was a possible violation of Mr.
Firbas' rights to freedom of speech and press freedom, we would be grateful for
an expedited investigation. Kindly inform us of the results.
Sincerely,
Roberto
Rock L.
President
of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information
Inter American Press Association
Cc. Heiko Maas