(IPYS/IFEX) – On 25 May 2004, Caracas’s Eleventh Court, which is presided by Judge Juvenal Barreto, sentenced journalist Ibéyise Pacheco to nine months in prison on a charge of “aggravated defamation”. Colonel Ángel Bellorín accused Pacheco of defaming him after the journalist published a 15 June 2001 story in her opinion column, “En Privado”, which […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 25 May 2004, Caracas’s Eleventh Court, which is presided by Judge Juvenal Barreto, sentenced journalist Ibéyise Pacheco to nine months in prison on a charge of “aggravated defamation”.
Colonel Ángel Bellorín accused Pacheco of defaming him after the journalist published a 15 June 2001 story in her opinion column, “En Privado”, which appears in “El Nacional” newspaper. In the article, Pacheco alleged that Bellorín had altered a grade in order to pass a law school course.
The court ruling also ordered “El Nacional” to publish the sentence in its entirety and Pacheco was ordered to cover the costs of the trial.
Pacheco will not be detained until the Appeals Court ratifies the sentence. The journalist, however, has said that she will appeal the sentence if it is ratified.
