Broadcast journalist sued for alleged defamation and slander
(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – Journalist Óscar Valdez, director of “La otra cara” television programme, broadcast by Telecab company and Radio Antena 5 radio station in the northeastern department Olancho, is facing a lawsuit for alleged defamation and slander for having broadcast information about alleged irregularities in the sale of light bulbs or floodlights that consume less energy. […]
Journalists harassed after investigating private security companies
(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – Journalists with the Civil Association for a More Just Society (Asociación civil por una Sociedad más Justa, ASJ) have been subject to harassment and a series of acts of intimidation since mid-August 2006. The perpetrators are personnel with the private security company Delta Segurity, who are reacting to recent investigative articles that exposed […]
Television journalist faces legal action for defamation; sports reporter assaulted by soccer player
(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – An education ministry official has initiated a legal action for defamation against Francisco Romero, host of the political affairs programme “Hablemos de Noche”, broadcast on the Tegucigalpa-based television station Canal 45. The action stems from Romero’s having discussed corruption on his programme two weeks before. In mid-August 2006, Romero reported that Jance Juárez, […]
Police and soldiers beat journalists
(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – Police and military officials attributed to “nervousness” their attack upon a group of cameramen and journalists who were covering protests in front of the presidential house on 10 August 2006. The incident occurred after a fragmentation grenade exploded in the hands of one of the policemen assigned to contain the teachers’ protests that […]
Journalist dismissed due to political pressures reinstated thanks to national and international actions
(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – Journalist Wendy Guerra, dismissed 24 April 2006 by the owner of Canal 49 television station in Santa Rosa de Copán in western Honduras, has been reinstated in her position after an alert concerning her case was issued nationally and internationally. The journalist had been dismissed due to political pressures from the local government. […]
Journalist assaulted, threatened by civil servant; flees country for personal safety
(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – Octavio Carvajal, journalist and host of two programmes on the Tegucigalpa-based radio station STC Noticias, has reported to the Public Prosecutor’s Office a physical attack that he suffered at the hands of Marcelo Chimirri, vice-director of the state telephone company Hondutel. The journalist also announced his intention to leave the country temporarily on […]
Journalist dismissed to gratify local government officials
(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – Reporter Wendy Guerra, of the television station Canal 49 in Santa Rosa de Copán, in western Honduras, was dismissed by the station owner Amid Cárdenas, a former member of parliament for the governing Partido Liberal (Liberal Party), in retaliation for a critical report on municipal affairs. Guerra, who worked with the station as […]
“Transparency Law” bill suffers major setback with National Party’s introduction of new, pro-censorship “transparency” bill
(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – The “Transparency Law” bill, aimed at guaranteeing access to public information, suffered a major setback only 24 hours prior to its expected introduction into the legislature for debate and approval, when a sector of the National Party (Partido Nacional, PN) introduced a new “transparency” bill on the night of 14 March 2006. PROBIDAD […]
Journalist assaulted by political party supporters
(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – On 9 March 2006, “Co Latino” newspaper journalist Rosa Elvia Campos was assaulted in the town of Mejicanos by a supporter of the Revolutionary Democratic Front (Frente Democrático Revolucionario, FDR) political party, who hit her with a blunt object wounding her on her left brow. Campos was seeking comments from Carlos Menéndez, who […]
Journalist harassed at gunpoint, threatened with lawsuit, for reporting on fuel contraband
(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – Rural journalist Januario Vásquez, a correspondent in Ocotepeque, a town in western Honduras, for Radio Globo and the television news programme “Abriendo Brecha”, both of which cover events across the country and broadcast from the capital, Tegucigalpa, has been the target of intimidation for having reported on contraband sales of fuel in which […]
Alliance 72 submits its recommendations on the “Transparency Law” to Congress
(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – Alliance 72 (la Alianza 72), a coalition of civil society organizations – including the Committee for Free Expression (el Comité por la Libre Expresión, C-Libre) – that promotes the issues of access to information in Honduras, submitted to Congress its recommendations regarding the “Transparency Law” bill to be discussed in upcoming weeks. In […]
Transparency Law still awaiting the political will of parliamentarians for approval
(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – The Transparency Law, which deals with access to public information and the legal principle of “habeas data” in Honduras, was rejected again by the Legislative Assembly. Influencing this outcome was the pressure exerted by interest groups seeking to preserve a culture of secrecy and impunity in this Central American nation. The proposed Law, […]
CAPSULE REPORT: Lawsuits, abolition of the “insult” provision and impediments to the access to information law highlighted by C-Libre in its annual freedom of expression report
(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – The following is a 20 January 2006 PROBIDAD press release: In its 2005 annual report, the Committee for Free Expression (el Comité por la Libre Expresión, C-Libre) underlines that – while there may have been a “small improvement” in the freedom of expression situation in Honduras over the year ? lawsuits, together with […]
Detained director of “El Orbe” newspaper released, charged with defamation of Chiapas governor
(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – On 27 October 2005, Enrique Zamora Cruz, director of “El Orbe” regional newspaper, was detained in Tapachula, Chiapas state, and accused of defamation. Agents from the Chiapas attorney general’s office detained Zamora and took him to the coastal zone branch office to question him. He was held incommunicado for several hours while being […]
Journalist assaulted and threatened by mayor
(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – On 10 October 2005, journalist Nicolás Sotelo, director of FM San Juan community radio station in the San Juan del Paraná district, was brutally beaten and threatened by town mayor Aldo Lepretti, of the Partido Liberal Radical Auténtico (PLRA) political party. According to the journalist, Lepretti, angered by criticisms that had been made […]
Court acquits journalists and police officers accused of defamation
(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – On 13 October 2005, the Comayagua Tribunal, in the city of Marcala, central department of La Paz, acquitted five police officers and two journalists. The accused were facing defamation charges for revealing information implicating high-ranking officials in the smuggling of lumber, coffee and grains on the border with El Salvador. Judge Rafael López […]