Colombia: Journalists Claudia Báez and Diana Salinas embroiled in legal battle by Senate leader over critical investigative report

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November 15, 2021 – President of the Senate Juan Diego Gómez filed a defamation lawsuit against Cuestión Pública’s founders Claudia Báez and Diana Salinas. In an investigative report, the journalists had revealed his alleged corruption and links with drug traffickers. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) denounces the defamation lawsuit against the investigative journalists. We see it as a blatant attempt to intimidate Claudia and Diana into silence. Journalists must be able to hold power to account - as is their job - without fear of retaliation from the government. Such tactics to curb criticism and suppress dissenting voices must be abandoned. We extend solidarity to Cuestión Pública’s founders and call for the criminal proceedings against them to be immediately dropped.

Claudia and Diana earlier faced the courts after revealing crucial reports about the Senator. President of the Senate Juan Diego Gómez claimed that his reputation was violated however the Colombian judiciary denied his claims. 

In May 2021, Gómez filed a guardianship alleging that the news outlet had violated his dignity and his reputation but Bogotá’s court denied his claims. The judge found the allegations made in the report were framed in the right to freedom of expression and information and cannot be restricted by a constitutional judge. Following the decision, the congressman appealed to the court on July 9, 2021. Similarly, the Superior Court of Bogotá affirmed the decision that the report was a journalistic activity and said, “it is not biased, incorrect information, much less false.”

Despite the rulings, Juan Diego Gómez has filed another criminal complaint this time with the Attorney General's Office against the media's co-founders Claudia Báez and Diana Salinas. The conciliation was scheduled for November 9, 2021, but it was postponed on the request of Gómez's lawyer.

The report that revealed Gomez’s links to corruption and drug traffickers was not ideal for the Senator, who has served a 16-year-long political career. According to the investigation, when Gómez was president of the Fifth Commission of the Chamber between 2012 and 2013 he had a private meeting with Eleuberto Martorelli, former president of Odebrecht in Colombia. Around this time, Odebrecht paid at least $2 million in bribes to senators and politicians known as "The Bulldozers." 

In 2014, César Hernández Sanmartín, who was in charge of imposing sanctions of fiscal responsibility, gave credit to Gómez Jiménez's campaign for the Senate and six months after the elections he laundered money for the Brazilian multinational. 

The journalists exposed many more incidents of corruption and wrong doings linked to Gomez. The news outlet questioned all the incidents connected with the president over 16 years.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism finds Gomez’s attempts to silence the critical voices of Claudia Báez and Diana Salinas extremely concerning. Embroiling the investigative journalists in one legal battle after the other instead of preparing his defence on the appalling allegations against him is a common tactic to intimidate journalists. Such actions are extremely damaging not only for journalism but also for the freedom of expression and the right to information. We welcome the decisions of the courts, which upheld Gomez’s lawsuit as frivolous and unfounded, and urge the Attorney General’s Office to follow suit. All bogus charges against the journalists must be dropped and the Colombian authorities must ensure their safety. No country can hope to thrive without a free press.