(PFC/IFEX) – On 30 September 2003, First Instance Judge Susana Rebaudengo, who presides over civil, commercial and labour matters in the city of Rafaela, Santa Fe province, ordered the seizure of printing equipment belonging to the daily “Castellanos”. The seizure order was issued to cover a US$15,688 fine resulting from a civil suit brought against […]
(PFC/IFEX) – On 30 September 2003, First Instance Judge Susana Rebaudengo, who presides over civil, commercial and labour matters in the city of Rafaela, Santa Fe province, ordered the seizure of printing equipment belonging to the daily “Castellanos”. The seizure order was issued to cover a US$15,688 fine resulting from a civil suit brought against the newspaper by the city’s mayor, Ricardo Peirone, for alleged “damage to his honour.” On 14 November, an official from the tribunal arrived at the “Castellanos” offices to serve notice of the order.
In 2001, “Castellanos” published a series of articles about a US$30,000 vehicle that Peirone received as a gift from the owner of Red Megatone, a household appliances company. The mayor admitted to having received the vehicle, but justified his actions saying the gift was given in exchange for accounting work he had completed for the company. According to “Castellanos”, Peirone completed the work for the company while he was a member of the local government. The newspaper also said that Red Megatone was a supplier for the Rafaela Mayor’s Office and that there was a possible conflict of interest involved. Peirone felt the “Castellanos” articles damaged his honour and subsequently launched a complaint against the newspaper.
In a letter to Judge Rebaudengo, PFC expressed its concern over the order to seize the newspaper’s equipment. “Equipment used to disseminate news should not be subject to seizure, as this affects the right to freely circulate information and ideas and puts the economic stability of media outlets at risk,” PFC said, while urging the judge to cancel the seizure order. PFC further stated that the “Castellanos” articles regarding the gift of a vehicle to Peirone were based on accurate information and, as such, the complaint against the newspaper should not have gone forward.
For additional information on the case see:
http://www.portal-pfc.org/perseguidos/2003/151.html
