(PFC/IFEX) – On 18 February 2004, the Supreme Court’s Third Chamber sentenced journalist Renato Álvarez to two years and eight months in prison for “slander” and “defamation”. The details of the verdict are described in an article entitled, “Laws and presiding judges condemn Honduran journalist Renato Álvarez”. Judges Félix Ávila, Thelma Cantarero and Geraldina Mejía […]
(PFC/IFEX) – On 18 February 2004, the Supreme Court’s Third Chamber sentenced journalist Renato Álvarez to two years and eight months in prison for “slander” and “defamation”. The details of the verdict are described in an article entitled, “Laws and presiding judges condemn Honduran journalist Renato Álvarez”. Judges Félix Ávila, Thelma Cantarero and Geraldina Mejía suspended the sentence on the condition that the journalist “demonstrates good behaviour” for the next five years and refrains from re-committing the alleged offence.
The court also applied a number of other sanctions to Álvarez for the duration of the sentence. These sanctions include the suspension of his rights to exercise “paternal authority” (“patria potestad”), vote, administer property and be elected or appointed to any public office. He was also ordered to pay the costs resulting from the trial.
On 3 February, Judges Ávila, Cantarero and Mejía sentenced Álvarez as the result of legal action filed by politician Eduardo Sarmiento, of the Partido Nacional ruling party. Sarmiento was one of 15 people mentioned in a report on alleged connections to drug trafficking. In June 2003, Álvarez invited Security Minister Óscar Álvarez to appear on his programme, “Frente a Frente”. When consulted about the veracity of the report on drug trafficking, the minister said that it was under investigation and that the report had been made available to several authorities in the country.
In sentencing Álvarez, the judges disregarded the arguments presented by the defence, overlooked indications of irregularities in the trial and ignored a January 2004 ruling in favour of the journalist in another defamation case linked to the disclosure of the report.
The articled entitled, “Laws and presiding judges condemn Honduran journalist Renato Álvarez”, describes in detail the trial proceedings and other key elements of the case, as well as the support the journalist has received. For the full article, see: http://portal-pfc.org/docs/2004/003.html.
For additional information on the case, see: http://portal-pfc.org/perseguidos/2003/084.html
This alert was prepared by PFC with information from C-Libre.
