Ecuador

Relatives of people detained by police threw stones at the TV station’s vehicle, hitting and injuring journalist Geovanny Vinueza.

Freedom House is very concerned that an article published on March 4, 2012 in “El Ciudadano” misrepresented their position on freedom of expression in Ecuador. The article included inaccurate facts about a meeting between representatives of the Ecuadorean government and Freedom House.

Eight women were violently evicted from the Chinese embassy in Quito and then detained by the Ecuadorian police when they were attempting to carry out a peaceful demonstration in protest against large-scale mining.

An interview with Communications Minister Fernando Alvarado, in the 4 March edition of the official newspaper “El Ciudadano”, flagrantly distorted what happened during a recent meeting he had in Washington, with Human Rights Watch.

The official said that Cornejo’s wife had allegedly “written an email calling for a demonstration against this ‘bad government’, including an incitement to overthrow President Correa and a request for his resignation”.

“We prompt the international community to remain alert of any attempt to take down or weaken a scheme for the protection of rights,” said the organisation.

The campaign is a movement against the national and international media, and organizations that defend freedom of expression all over the world, because of their rejection of the ratification of the conviction against the newspaper “El Universo”, its directors Carlos, Nicolás and César Pérez, and its opinion editor Emilio Palacio.

Correa emphasized that the trial “made evident the great biases of the IACHR, a commission that has the characteristics of an NGO rather than a legal institution, in which legitimacy is secondary. Thus they take on real or imaginary crusades”.

Fundamedios believes that the sentence against “El Universo” will have calamitous consequences, not just for the exercise of the freedom of expression, but also for the effectiveness of democracy in Ecuador.

(WiPC/IFEX) – 22 February 2012 – The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International welcomes the Inter American Commission on Human Rights’ (IACHR) recent intervention in the criminal libel case against the Ecuadoran daily newspaper, El Universo. On 21 February 2012, the Commission ordered the Ecuadoran government to suspend the enforcement of the sentences […]

The president of Panama, Ricardo Martinelli, granted diplomatic asylum to Carlos Pérez Barriga after a sentence was ratified that convicted the paper’s directors, and former feature writer to three years in prison and the payment of $40 million for the crime of slanderous offenses against President Rafael Correa.

The first incident involves the onerous, disproportionate and unjustified sentence handed down against journalists Juan Carlos Calderón and Christian Zurita, writers of the book “El Gran Hermano” (Big Brother), which highlights lucrative government contracts obtained by President Rafael Correa’s brother.

Judge Mónica Encalada has stated, in a written document addressed to the Guayas District Attorney’s Office, that the original sentence had been written by one of the Chief of State’s attorneys.

“This shortsighted ruling will only keep Ecuadoran journalists from investigating powerful politicians; it represents a serious setback for democracy in Ecuador,” says CPJ.

The paper’s lawyer has questioned the selection of the three judges who will now deal with the case.

Journalist Carlos Sosa questioned the officers’ decision saying they had discriminated against Telecosta and other Emeraldas’ media outlets to give preference to national media teams who were allowed to do their work unimpeded.