Santiago Serna Duque
09 November 2017•Update: 09 November 2017
By Santiago Serna
BOGOTA, Colombia
The Venezuelan National Constitutional Assembly approved on Wednesday a “law against hate, for peaceful coexistence and tolerance”.
Violators could face stiff penalties of up to 20 years in prison.
President Nicolas Maduro said the new law would “put an end to hate messages”, racial as well as political.
It would also suppress public demonstrations against Maduro´s government, similar to protests in recent months that have left 131 victims dead.
Former Prosecutor General Luisa Ortega, who was forced to flee to Colombia earlier this year after she was removed from office, said at least 25 percent of the deaths during the protests were due to direct action by “security forces” and another 40 percent were due to civilians armed by the state.
The new law allows penalties of up to 10 years in prison for police and military personnel guilty of discriminating against minorities.
Those who publish slanderous messages against the government on social media will be sanctioned and media outlets that violate the legislation will be shut down.
“Radio and TV providers that showcase propaganda in favor of war, or racial, religious, political or any other kind of hate messages will be sanctioned by having their operating license revoked,” according to the legislation.
*Ahmed Fawzi Mostefai contributed to this report.
