International Committee for Peace, Justice and Dignity, November 4th 2015

The Delegation of Argentine Jewish Associations (DAIA) Have Opened a Criminal Case against the Director of Resumen Latinoamericano for  His Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Please Support him by endorsing a Petition

The International Committee for Peace, Justice and Dignity makes a call to endorse a Petition in support of Carlos Aznárez, Director of Resumen Latinoamericano  (See petition at the end)

Carlos Aznárez, October 27, 2015

This time I have to write about myself, as the director for 22 years of the media outlet Resumen Latinoamericano (newspaper, radio and TV). Unfortunately have been forced to do this to defend my right to speak and express myself which is explicitly protected by the Argentine Constitution. How did this all start? A few days ago, I received in my email inbox a notice from Google (written in English) where they informed me that "within ten days" Google  would be allowing access to all my emails in accordance to an order made by the  Criminal Court. The email I received is the way I learned of this incredible and outrageous attack on my privacy as a journalist since it is usually through email that I exchange information with colleagues or with different media. Also included of course is the personal addresses of anyone that I have been communicating with.

This interference stems from a criminal case made by the Delegation of Argentine  Jewish Associations (DAIA) accusing me of nothing more than being in solidarity  with the Palestinian People.

DAIA and their lawyers went to the Prosecutor's Office No. 25 to accuse me of "Organizational and discriminatory propaganda", brandishing the argument of "anti-Semitism". The  reasons given for such a procedure are more than clumsy and offend me as a citizen and as a journalist. DAIA refers to my participation in expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people in August 2014, when tons of Israeli bombs where falling  on Gaza and causing the deaths of thousands of innocent people. A high percentage of those deaths were boys and girls who happened to be living in  Gaza. This is a  similar scenario that is now happening in the West Bank.

On that occasion, like I have done many times before, as part of my professional  obligation, (exercised both in the Resumen Lationoamericano newspaper and as a collaborator with Russian Today, Hispan TV and ALBA TV international channels) I  was journalistically covering what was happening in Gaza and giving my editorial opinion. My crime according to my accusers was the fact that I, along with other  Argentineans, was describing the truth about what was happening in Gaza and throughout the Palestinian territory. It is for this that they are now trying to prosecute  me and getting a conviction with a prison term, thus opening an open attack on the rights to disseminate information and expressing an opinion.

That is why, I want to DENOUNCE this serious attack against my person and the media I represent, to which they undoubtedly intends to discriminate against and encroach on its informative function.

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PETITION

We Reject Any Attempts to Criminalize Journalist Carlos Aznárez and Stifle his Freedom of Expression

We the undersigned are alerting people of good will about the opening of a "criminal" case against Carlos Aznárez, a journalist and director of Resumen Latinoamericano, by the Delegation of Argentine Jewish Associations (DAIA).

Aznárez is being harassed for exercising his right to publicly expressing his solidarity with the Palestinian People.

This abuse has become more serious and significant of late because of a judicial  procedure initiated by DAIA to attempt - through a notice to Google - to access  all the emails of the journalist and the media that he represents from July 2014 to date.

This measure itself violates the right to privacy and protection of sources of information that any professional in the field of communication in our country and the world  has. It is for this reason that we reject this procedure that explicitly attacks the rights protected in the Argentine National Constitution. Furthermore, we express our solidarity with Carlos Aznárez, a journalist and human rights activist who is now challenging the judicial measures directed against him. We also demand that actions such as this not be repeated against any other media  workers whose inherent function is to inform and to actively and freely express  their ideas.

Send your endorsement to:solidaridadconcarlosaznarez@hotmail.com

Initial list of endorsers:

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Nobel Peace Prize, Argentina,
Nora Cortiñas, Mother of  Plaza de Mayo-Línea Fundadora,
Mirta Baravalle, Mother  of Plaza de Mayo-Línea Fundadora,
Beinusz Szmukler, Advisory President of the American Association of Jurists, Argentina,
Graciela Rosenblum, President, Argentinean Human Rights League, Argentina,
Ernesto Moreau, Co-President of the Human Rights Permanent Assembly, Argentina,
Eduardo Barcesat, Lawyer, Argentina, Osvaldo Bayer, Journalist, writer, Argentina,
Vicente Zito Lema, Poet, Co-Director of Resumen Latinoamericano, Argentina,
Rene González, Hero of the  Republic of Cuba,
Fernando González, Hero of the Republic of Cuba,
Antonio Guerrero, Hero of the  Republic of Cuba,
Ramón Labañino, Hero of the  Republic of Cuba,
Gerardo Hernandez, Hero of the Republic of Cuba,
Noam Chomsky, Linguist, United States,
James Petras, Author, United States,
Peter Phillips, Professor, United States,
Jane Franklin, Historian, United States,
Félix Salvador Kury, Professor, United States,
Martin Garbus, Attorney, United States,
Peter A. Schey, Attorney, United States,
Piero Gleijeses, Author, United States,
Dr. Paul Larudee, co-founder of the Free Palestine Movement, United States,
Hernando Calvo Ospina, Colombian journalist and writer, France,
Salim Lamrani, Professor and writer, France,
Javier Couso Permuy, Member of the European Parliament, Spain,
Lourdes Cervantes, Executive Secretary of  Ospaaaal, Cuba,
Maurice Lemoine, Writer, France,
Ghassan Ben Jeddoui, Director of Al Mayadeen TV, Lebanon.