The lawyer Giancarlo de la Gasca, legal representative of the Minister of the Interior, Juan Carlos Bidegain, presented, this Thursday, a complaint before the Association of Journalists of El Salvador (APES) against Factum Magazine and the journalist Loida Martínez Avelar for violating the Code of Ethics for Journalism.
In addition, the lawyer denounces that Factum falsely published that the minister was wanted by the International Police. He clarified that the head of the Interior was exonerated by a judge of all the accusations against him.
The lawyer indicated that both Revista Factum and the journalist Martínez Avelar violated 16 articles of the Code of Ethics by publishing information on a case of alleged domestic violence against his ex-wife, from whom he separated 11 years ago, a case for which the Minister of Government was acquitted in 2020.
«The Factum Magazine and the journalist Loida Avelar only raised one of the versions. They were not objective, they were not impartial… In addition, through their social networks, they have called my client a fugitive from justice,» lawyer Giancarlo stated.
He affirmed that the minister has never been required by international justice for the said case, as the journalist and Factum Magazine stated in their publications.
The lawyer said that his client does not have any red alerts nor does he have information that Interpol is looking for him. The greatest proof of this is that he is currently out of the country in compliance with an important work agenda.
After having violated the code of ethics, the official’s lawyer hopes that APES will reprimand the exercise of irresponsible journalism practiced by both Factum and Martínez Avelar.
The APES is chaired by César Castro Fagoaga, general manager of the denounced magazine, for which they hope that he will be removed from hearing the case.
«We hope that the exercise of irresponsible journalism does not cost our society anything… We greatly hope that the code of ethics of journalism does not remain in pretty words, dead letters, and empty words,» said the lawyer.
For his part, the minister posted on social networks: «I appeal to the good offices of the Ethics Committee of @apeselsalvador, so that they are impartial, objective and give importance to something so sensitive, since the least that is expected of their members is that they study their own Code of Ethics and comply with it.«