PRESS FREEDOM IN THE AMERICAS HAS WORSENED, SAYS WATCHDOG (STA BREAKING NEWS and ARCHIVES)

by STANews , Wednesday, October 22, 2014, 07:36

Freedoms of the press and of expression in the Americas have seen a "marked deterioration" in the past six months, a leading advocacy group has said.

The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) said there had been a "significant increase in direct and indirect censorship and physical attacks on journalists".

The Miami-based group said media workers in almost all the countries of the region had been affected.

The watchdog singled out Venezuela.

"[Venezuelan] police forces and police-style groups on the orders of the government left... several journalists injured," the IAPA said in a press release.

"Physical attacks on journalists were also recorded during coverage of various election processes in Bolivia, Brazil and Peru, and street protests in the American city of Ferguson and in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil," it added.

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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-29716131