Watchdog group CPJ decries Peru court order to open phone records of Peruvian investigative journalist.

A leading American watchdog group, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), has condemned a Peruvian court order compelling the disclosure of investigative journalist Paola Ugaz’s phone records and geolocation data.

This order stems from an illicit enrichment case linked to Ugaz’s reporting, which has uncovered scandals within the Peru-based Catholic order, the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV).

Ugaz, alongside Pedro Salinas, has dedicated years to investigating abuses and financial dealings within the SCV, an organization founded by Luis Fernando Figari.

In 2015, their collaborative book, “Half Monks, Half Soldiers,” detailing decades of abuse within the SCV, triggered significant Vatican-led investigations.

These investigations culminated in Pope Francis appointing a “Special Mission” last year, which subsequently led to the Vatican expelling Figari and ten other top-ranking SCV members.

CPJ Latin America Program Coordinator Cristina Zahar stated the organization is “really concerned by the years of judicial harassment” Ugaz has faced since beginning her investigation in 2010.

Zahar emphasized the potential illegality under Peru’s constitution of the order to reveal Ugaz’s communications, citing risks to her journalistic sources and possible reprisals.

Ugaz has endured a sustained campaign of legal actions, including numerous criminal defamation suits and other complaints, from individuals and groups connected to the SCV over the past decade.

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