International journalist organization Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Monday rejected a recently filed lawsuit by Colombia’s Supreme Court against two columnists.
In two columns published in different publications last week, columnists Cecilia Orozco and Maria Jimena Duzan claimed the Supreme Court made personnel changes to favor lawmakers suspected of criminal activities.
The court responded by sueing the columnists for slander.
According to the CPJ, the demafation accusations of the court were “outrageous.”
“Inter-American jurisprudence says that public officials are subject to higher scrutiny. This is an act of intimidation against journalists by one of the country’s most powerful bodies,” Carlos Lauría, CPJ senior program coordinator for the Americas said on the organization’s website.
The Colombian press freedom foundation FLIP, joined by dozens of Colombian journalists, had already condemned the lawsuit, claiming it was a “violation of the freedom of opinion.”