(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – On 26 July 2005, the San Pedro Sula chamber of the Honduran Supreme Court dismissed a US$ 1.6 million lawsuit that had been filed against Jorge Canahuati Larach, owner of “La Prensa” newspaper, published in San Pedro Sula. The libel suit had been filed by Embotelladora Hondureña S.A (EMBOHSA), a soft-drink bottling company, […]
(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – On 26 July 2005, the San Pedro Sula chamber of the Honduran Supreme Court dismissed a US$ 1.6 million lawsuit that had been filed against Jorge Canahuati Larach, owner of “La Prensa” newspaper, published in San Pedro Sula. The libel suit had been filed by Embotelladora Hondureña S.A (EMBOHSA), a soft-drink bottling company, for a series of articles the company had claimed were defamatory. “La Prensa” had alleged that a plant that EMBOHSA would like to set up would damage the Sunceri aquifer, San Pedro Sula’s main water reservoir.
The judges based their decision on Article 7 of the Honduran Law on Expression of Thought (Ley de Emisión del Pensamiento) which stipulates that “journalists and writers are free to write stories that they consider appropriate in response to statements made by any public authority, official or employee, or by the representative of a body, ‘legal person’ or natural individual. The court decided that the accusations made against Canahuati of the crimes of defamation and insult were unfounded (for the full ruling see http://probidad.org/blogs/defensa/AD_20050529_02.pdf).
The court’s decision was reached in record time, and without the conciliation hearing beforehand that is customary in defamation cases. This is the first time in 25 years that a Honduran media owner has been sued. This, and the reasons the court gave for its decision are both precedent-setting.
