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🇦🇷 Argentina /Crime & Justice

Court overturns unusual order restricting journalists who reported on Tapia and Toviggino

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • A San Isidro appeals court unanimously overturned an injunction that barred several journalists and political figures from contacting AFA leaders Claudio Tapia and Pablo Toviggino.
  • The judges said the original order did not identify specific crimes or establish a concrete risk to the football officials.
  • ADEPA welcomed the ruling as a safeguard against using criminal complaints or preventive measures to restrict journalistic investigations and freedom of expression.

An Argentine appeals court has overturned an unusual injunction that prevented journalists and political figures from contacting the heads of the Argentine Football Association, Claudio Tapia and Pablo Toviggino, and sought to limit what could be published about them.

The decision was unanimous. Judges Luis Cayetano Cayuela, Gustavo Herbel and Carlos Blanco accepted appeals filed by the defenses of journalists including Nicolás Pizzi of LA NACION, Luis Gasulla of LN+ and El Observador, Bruno Yacono of TN and Mariano Roa of Clarín. The appeals also came from Coalición Cívica figures Facundo Del Gaiso and Matías Yofe.

A valuable precedent against the risk of turning journalistic investigations into judicial proceedings through criminal complaints or preventive measures, contrary to the prohibition of prior censorship and the broad debate and information needed to discuss matters of general interest.

· Association of Journalistic Entities of Argentina (ADEPA)ADEPA welcomed the appeals court’s decision overturning the injunction.

The original preventive order came from Walter Federico Saettone, head of Pilar’s Guarantee Court No. 7, in May. It followed a complaint by the football officials, who were being investigated for fraud. Saettone barred the defendants from contacting Tapia and Toviggino or their families by phone, digitally, through social media, instant messaging, email or any other direct or indirect means.

It is clear that the appearance of responsibility requires a consistent criminal hypothesis.

· San Isidro appeals courtThe judges explained why they rejected the original preventive measure.

The order also prohibited the defendants from approaching the complainants’ homes or workplaces within 500 meters for 90 days. The appeals judges said the measure did not specify what crimes were allegedly being committed or prove circumstances showing a real risk to Tapia and Toviggino.

“The restriction of constitutional rights, such as freedom of expression in this case, cannot be justified by such a generic and imprecise basis,” the judges wrote. The Argentine Association of Journalistic Entities called the ruling “a valuable precedent against the risk of turning journalistic investigations into judicial proceedings through criminal complaints or preventive measures.”

The restriction of constitutional rights, such as freedom of expression in this case, cannot be justified by such a generic and imprecise basis.

· San Isidro appeals courtThe court said the injunction lacked a sufficient legal basis.
About this summary

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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