IAPA Expresses Concern at Arrest of Journalist in Venezuela

MIAMI, Florida (July 11)-The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) said today it is "extremely concerned" at a court order for Pablo López Ulacio, publisher of the weekly La Razón in Caracas, Venezuela, that he be held under house arrest and called on the Venezuelan authorities to ensure he is given fair and impartial due process so as not to violate press freedom.

López Ulacio, is accused of libeling the president of the Multinacional de Seguros insurance company, Tobías Carrero Nácar. He has been under house arrest since July 9 for refusing to answer a summons to appear in court. He claims that the court has refused to accept evidence has refuting the accusation.

The judge hearing the case David Pérez Perera, who ordered López Ulacios house arrest, was recused yesterday, on the grounds that he had acted from the outset of the legal proceedings with "manifest bias." The case against López Ulacio, who remains under house arrest at this time, will be transferred to another judge for a decision on future action.

The chairman of the IAPAs Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Rafael Molina, said that the hemisphere free-press organization "has the hope that in this new phase of the legal proceedings a fair and impartial hearing will be held that will not arouse any suspicion that this is a tainted process designed to restrict freedom of expression."

"Our concern in Venezuela," added Molina, of the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, daily El Nacional, is that those in power come down hard from time to time on news media and individual journalists, so we urge the political leadership and the judiciary to respect the right of every citizen to be informed."