RSF has documented 20 cases of press freedom violations in Peru between August and September 2024

Peruvian journalist Paola Ugaz, known for her investigations into crimes committed by the ultra-conservative sect Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana,recently discovered a troubling new development in her country's declining press freedom - but not through her reporting work. Instead, Ugaz, who has been subjected to judicial harassmentsince 2018, found out that in August 2023, a judge approved the prosecutor's request to disclose her phone records from 2013 to 2020 as part of an investigation into Ugaz's alleged "illicit enrichment." Neither Ugaz nor her lawyer were informed of this decision, which was requested under "classified" status. The request was based on false accusations related to her work as social media manager at Lima's City Hall from 2013 to 2014, and was a clear attempt to access her confidential journalistic information, such as the identity of her sources.

This is the first time that Peruvian authorities have disclosed a journalist's communications data without notifying them, setting a dangerous precedent that could harm the protection of journalists' sources. On 26 September, Ugaz appealed the decision to release her court records. RSF will continue following the judicial harassment of Ugaz, who has exposed cases of physical and psychological torture by Sodalicio leaders, as well as land trafficking and influence-peddling schemes.

Ugaz is just one of many journalists facing mounting pressure from the state, and RSF has also observed a worrying increase in legal threats and defamatory rhetoric from public officials. Congressman Darwin Espinoza, under investigation for corruption, dismissed reports about his case as "cheap gossip," while Congressman Alejandro Soto has filed multiple defamation lawsuits against journalists investigating his legal violations. In September 2024, presidential spokesperson Fredy Hinojosa accused journalists covering anti-government protests of "inciting violence," further fueling the hostile climate toward the press.

On 28 August 2024, Gustavo Gorriti, director of the digital outlet IDL-Reporteros, was attacked by a far-right group linked to political figures who featured in Gorriti's investigations on corruption. During protests in Lima, this group held posters with defamatory messages of Gorriti, known for his investigations into the Odebrecht corruption scandaland the undisclosed donations to former presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori's political campaigns. On 25 September, the same group harassed him again by shouting hate speech and brandishing offensive signs outside the prosecutor's office.

Other journalists who have faced this hostility include Ernesto Cabral, from the digital outlet La Encerrona, and Stefanie Medina, from the news show Contracorrienteon the private TV channel Willax, who were obstructed in their efforts to access key political information during their investigations. Colombian journalist Jaime Dinas faced discrimination while covering a sporting event. In August 2024, Patricia Hoyosand Rosario Romaní, journalists for the digital outlet Ojo Públicowho faced defamation lawsuits for exposing corruption cases, were targeted by a cyberattack during the launch of the "Judicial Gag Order" report by the Press and Society Institute (IPYS).

Peru's dramatic fall in the World Press Freedom Indexreflects the gravity of the situation.