Moderators Moderator_02 Posted October 31, 2020 Moderators Share Posted October 31, 2020 Quote Police chief apologizes for violent arrest of La Estrella journalist Posted 30/10/2020 The pepper-spraying and arrest of a La Estrella journalist by the National Police, while he was covering a demonstration outside of the National Assembly, has reverberated around Panama from the presidency to the Ombudsman, and in all local media and social networks. The president of the Editorial Group El Siglo y La Estrella (GESE), Eduardo Quirós, regretted the events that occurred on Thursday afternoon on the grounds of the Assembly, where Juan Cajar was held when he was covering a protest against the 2021 budget. “We should be concerned, firstly, by the inability of the Police to deal with the basically peaceful protest, secondly, in full ignorance of the journalist's work, detains an editor of the newspaper La Estrella; and thirdly, an institution that has lied to the public to justify this situation, ” He said that the journalist Juan Cajar carried his identification card at all times, and in videos shown on social networks and some media you can hear Cajar identifying himself as a journalist of La Estrella. He hoped and the journalist receives the apologies he deserves”, said Quirós He said that “the director-general of the National Police has done enormous damage to the name of the country internationally and to the management of the President with a situation that could have been resolved immediately, however, it has led to a consequence that still does not stop ”. The journalist was held at a police station for five hours and ordered to appear before a Justice of the Peace on Friday morning. The JP had a medical appointment and Cajar was ordered to return on November 2. The director of the National Police (PN), Jorge Miranda, personally apologized on Friday to Cajar, who said ."The only apology I can accept is that the charges against me be dropped." Cajar, who must attend a hearing at the Justice of the Peace in Bella Vista, where he is expected to face charges of "disturbing public order." The exchange took place in front of the country's media and the Ombudsman, Eduardo Leblanc. The Ombudsman has recommended that next Monday, when the Justice of the Peace opens, a withdrawal be made by the PN of all charges However, Miranda said that " there are two positions regarding the case: the one given by the PN and that of the journalist, and in view of this, the jurisdictional judge must make a decision through a hearing ." https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/police-chief-apologizes-for-violent-arrest-of-la-estrella-journalist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted November 1, 2020 Author Moderators Share Posted November 1, 2020 Quote Human Rights Watch condemns arrest of Panama journalist Cajar (left) and his defense attorney before the office of a Justice of the Peace Posted 31/10/2020 The director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch (HRW), José Miguel Vivancos, said on Friday, October 30 that the arrest of a journalist, when he was covering a protest in Panama City was "arbitrary" and he questioned the Ministry of Security for "covering up" the Police." The Panamanian police arbitrarily detained journalist Juan Cajar when he was covering a demonstration, although he repeatedly showed his credential. They accuse him of" disturbing public order. "How is it possible that @MinSegPma covers up the police claiming that he did not have identification?" he wrote on his Twitter account. Juan Cajar, a journalist for La Estrella de Panamá, was detained by the National Police along with five other protesters when he covered protests at the National Assembly against the recently approved General State Budget. According to a statement from the National olice police, Cajar "while at the police headquarters (...) took out a press card that he did not carry at the time of the police action, he did not keep filming or recording equipment or any equipment of those used by professionals of the press. " https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/human-rights-watch-condemns-arrest-of-panama-journalist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted November 1, 2020 Author Moderators Share Posted November 1, 2020 Quote OPINION: An Untouchable Military Gorilla Posted 31/10/2020 It seems that the Director of the Police is among the untouchables of the Government since there are not a few situations that have merited his dismissal, but he is still there. Under his direction there were acts such as the La Joyita massacre, the escape of the murderer Ventura Ceballos, the increase in cases of homicides this year - in the middle of the pandemic - and now another case is added in which a journalist - from La Estrella de Panama - is arrested while covering - fully identified as press - a protest. The police chief ignored the order to release the journalist issued by the President of the Republic, who last week signed the Declaration of Chapultepec, the second principle of which states: “Everyone has the right to seek and receive information, express opinions and freely disseminate them. . Nobody can restrict or deny these rights". The conduct of the Police Director is erratic, since, while he apologized to the journalist and admitted that the decision to detain him was not the most correct, he indicated that he was not immediately released, “because we sought to comply with the process against you.” We believed we had overcome the police harassment of journalists, but this man acts as a second-generation military gorilla.- LA PRENSA, Oct.31 https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/opinion-an-untouchable-military-gorilla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted November 2, 2020 Author Moderators Share Posted November 2, 2020 Quote Policía Nacional desiste de los cargos contra el periodista Juan Cajar Había sido detenido cuando cubría una protesta. Getzalette Reyes 02 nov 2020 - 09:10 AM Cajar dijo que valoraba de forma positiva la actuación de la Policía Nacional. Isaac Ortega. La Policía Nacional (PN) presentó, este lunes 2 de noviembre, un desistimiento de los cargos contra el periodista de La Estrella, Juan Cajar. El comunicador había sido detenido y señalado, junto a otras personas, por la supuesta alteración del orden público durante una protesta ciudadana, la semana pasada, frente a la Asamblea Nacional. Así las cosas, la audiencia programada para este lunes no se concretó. El desistimiento “lo valoramos positivamente”, ya que fortalece la democracia del país, dijo Cajar, a su salida del despacho del juez de paz de Bella Vista. Luego de los hechos suscitados, Cajar −que también es profesor en la Universidad de Panamá− señaló que lo que “tenemos que hacer es seguir haciendo nuestro trabajo, no importa las circunstancias o el momento”. El viernes pasado, el director general de la PN, Jorge Miranda, ya había informado que se presentaría el desistimiento de los cargos durante una visita a La Estrella, en la que ofreció disculpas públicas por el incidente. La semana pasada, Miranda −que ejerce el puesto desde el 1 de julio de 2019− cumplió la edad de retiro; el presidente Laurentino Cortizo ha anunciado que busca su reemplazo. <br> Moderator comment: Below is an unedited automated translation of the above news article. Quote National Police drop the charges against journalist Juan Cajar He had been arrested while covering a protest. Getzalette Reyes 02 Nov 2020 - 09:10 AM <<SR5HK7N7FJCQHHEZY4SBRVZZYI.jpg>> Cajar said that he positively valued the actions of the National Police. Isaac Ortega. The National Police (PN) presented, this Monday, November 2, a withdrawal of the charges against the journalist from La Estrella, Juan Cajar. The communicator had been detained and pointed out, along with other people, for the alleged alteration of public order during a citizen protest last week in front of the National Assembly. Thus, the hearing scheduled for this Monday did not materialize. The withdrawal "we value it positively", since it strengthens the democracy of the country, said Cajar, as he left the office of the justice of the peace in Bella Vista. After the events that occurred, Cajar - who is also a professor at the University of Panama - pointed out that what "we have to do is continue doing our work, no matter the circumstances or the moment." Last Friday, the general director of the PN, Jorge Miranda, had already informed that the withdrawal of the charges would be presented during a visit to La Estrella, in which he offered a public apology for the incident. Last week, Miranda - who has been in the position since July 1, 2019 - reached retirement age; President Laurentino Cortizo has announced that he is seeking his replacement. https://www.prensa.com/judiciales/periodista-juan-cajar-se-presenta-ante-el-juez-de-paz-de-bella-vista/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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