(IPYS/IFEX) – Ibeyise Pacheco, journalist and columnist for the newspaper “El Nacional”, has been under house arrest since 15 March 2006 after the 11th Tribunal denied her plea for a suspended sentence. She was sentenced, in May 2004, to nine months in prison for defaming Colonel Angel Bellorin. The journalist was denied probation because a […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – Ibeyise Pacheco, journalist and columnist for the newspaper “El Nacional”, has been under house arrest since 15 March 2006 after the 11th Tribunal denied her plea for a suspended sentence. She was sentenced, in May 2004, to nine months in prison for defaming Colonel Angel Bellorin. The journalist was denied probation because a new criminal complaint has been filed against her.
On 13 March 2006, the court ordered the arrest of Pacheco after deciding she should serve her sentence at the National Institute for Female Guidance (Instituto Nacional de Orientación Femenina). She was put under house arrest after the Institute declared it could not guarantee the journalist’s physical safety. The time of her confinement could decrease if she is granted probation.
According to Venezuelan legislation, a sentence of five years or less may be served under the terms of conditional probation with regular appearances before the court if there are no previous convictions against the defendant. Pacheco was not granted this benefit because of a new criminal complaint filed against her in which she is accused of perjury.
