(IPYS/IFEX) – Journalist José Ángel Ocanto, managing editor of “El Impulso” daily, in the city of Barquisimeto, located in the west central region of the country, has complained that a defamation case being brought against him by Major Arnaldo Certaín is being delayed. Certaín is a former director of the Security and Public Order Unit […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – Journalist José Ángel Ocanto, managing editor of “El Impulso” daily, in the city of Barquisimeto, located in the west central region of the country, has complained that a defamation case being brought against him by Major Arnaldo Certaín is being delayed. Certaín is a former director of the Security and Public Order Unit and current director of the Foundation for Small and Medium Industrial Development of Lara state.
Ocanto made the comments after finding out that Judge Carlos Alberto Quintero had disqualified himself from the case, resulting in the suspension of a hearing scheduled for 1 October 2003 at the Lara state Judicial Court. The court’s headquarters is heavily guarded by Scientific and Criminal Investigations Unit (Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas, Penales y Criminalísticas, CICPC) officers.
Quintero is the second judge to remove himself from the case, which began in 2002 after Certaín launched a “defamation” and “insult” complaint against the journalist. The complaint was based on information published in “El Impulso” that linked Certaín to corruption and drug-trafficking incidents while he was director of the Maiquetía International Airport Independent Institute, which is the main airport in the country.
According to Ocanto’s lawyer, Ramón Pérez Linares, Judge Quintero disqualified himself from the case by citing Article 86, Number 8 of the Penal Code. “He argued that since he had been present at the hearing in which Ocanto’s appeal was accepted, the parties to the case could challenge his decisions. Quintero removed himself from the case because he felt that his impartiality could be viewed as having been affected,” Pérez Linares said.
According to court regulations, the next judge will have a period of no less than 10 and no more than 20 days, from the time of being assigned to the case, to establish a new trial date.
The first judge in the case was Jorge Querales, who is currently the chief prosecutor for the Lara Prosecutor’s Office. He removed himself from the case on 17 October 2002 after the Appeals Court determined that Ocanto’s right to a defence was being violated.
At the time, a group of individuals demonstrated against Ocanto at the court’s headquarters, resulting in damages to the court’s facilities. Insults and threats were also issued against the judges and journalists who were present.
On 5 November 2002, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights recommended that precautionary measures be taken to protect Ocanto since he had been the subject of threats and harassment.
