Free Expression in Chile

Human Rights Watch has played a critical role in persuading the Chilean government to move forward with legal reforms aimed at scrapping the country's repressive laws on "insult to authority" (known as desacato). Such laws, which criminalize strongly worded criticism of government authorities -- including the president, members of Congress, senior judges, and members of the armed forces -- place journalists and others at risk of incarceration and other criminal penalties when commenting on governmental policies.