The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the sentence against journalist Gustavo Azócar to two years and six months in jail even though he will be freed on probation. 

Azócar has been accused of technical breaches of administration rules but many in Venezuela see his conviction as another attempt to silence a critic of President Hugo Chavez.

"We ask for Azócar to go free with no further threat against him," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "His conviction is without merit and just another case of judicial intimidation of a journalist who is critical of the President."

The IFJ demanded that the case against Azócar be dropped during a visit to Caracas in December, but since then there have been yet more legal actions targeted at media and individual journalists.

During his visit to Venezuela, the Secretary General had warned of politicalm bias in the courts. He said judges were guilty of "disproportionate and punitive" action against Azócar who was jailed for entries on his blog and warned that  bias in court judgements meant "justice in Venezuela is in danger of being delivered according to political interests alone."

Last week, Guillermo Zuloaga, head of the opposition television network Globovision was arrested allegedly for anti-Chavez comments when he was about to leave the country. Zuloaga was released later on bail but remains charged with insulting President Chavez and making "false statements". 

In March, the president of the science and technology commission of Venezuela and Attorney General, Luisa Ortega, suggested the government will increase controls on the Internet to force bloggers and media to be "responsible." He hinted at plans to install a "unique connection point" in the country, which is seen by many observers as a potential threat to free expression.

In recent months dozens of radio stations have been closed and many television networks have been refused licence renewals.

"It is increasingly clear to many, inside and outside the country, that free speech is under fire and that journalists and media who dare criticise the head of state are risking jail," said White. "It is an intolerable decline in democratic rights." 

The IFJ, which criticised some private media over unprofessional behaviour during an attempt to overthrow President Chavez in 2002, says that the Venezuelan government must end its vendetta against independent media and stop using the courts against journalists. "It's time for Venezuela to break out of this mood of confrontation and embrace the freedom of speech that comes with the Internet as well as traditional media," said White.

For more information contact the IFJ at   +32 2 235 2207       

The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 125 countries worldwide