Telecosta TV station equipment damaged by acid attack, Radio Gaviota director threatened
Reporters Without Borders condemns an attack on the premises of privately-owned TV station Telecosta and radio station Radio Gaviota in the coastal city of Esmeraldas on 7 April 2009.
Telecosta TV station equipment damaged by acid attack, Radio Gaviota director threatened
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders condemns an attack on the premises of privately-owned TV station Telecosta and radio station Radio Gaviota in the coastal city of Esmeraldas on 7 April 2009. The NGO Fundamedios said intruders entered the premises through the air-conditioning ducts and threw acid on equipment. Telecosta director Johanna Endara said she did […]
WPFC urges president to decriminalise defamation laws; journalist Freddy Aponte released from prison
(WPFC/IFEX) – The following is a 23 March 2009 WPFC letter to President Rafael Correa Delgado: His Excellency Rafael Correa Delgado President of the Republic Presidential Palace Quito, Ecuador Your Excellency, The World Press Freedom Committee ( http://www.wpfc.org ) – an organization representing 45 press freedom groups from throughout the world – expresses its profound […]
Editor Emilio Palacio threatened after criticising president’s radio programme; camera operator José Vallejo assaulted by protesting taxi drivers
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 13 March 2009, Emilio Palacio, editor of the op-ed section of “El Universo” newspaper, received an e-mail in which he and his family are insulted and threatened. The message referred to one of his articles, published on 1 March 2009, in which he criticised President Rafael Correa’s radio programme. According to Palacio, […]
Photographer Roni Zambrano stopped from photographing military base; member of parliament threatens to sue “El Universo” newspaper
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 11 March 2009, Luis Alvarado Loor and Roni Zambrano, a journalist and a photographer with “Diario Súper”, were stopped from carrying out their work in the San Eduardo Naval Base, in the city of Guayaquil. The incident took place when the photographer attempted to take pictures of the base’s exterior areas where […]
Attacks on the Press in 2008: Ecuador
Attacks on the Press in 2008: Ecuador
“Mi Pueblo” weekly’s headquarters target of shooting, may be connected to criticisms of government
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 17 February 2009, unknown assailants fired shots at the headquarters of the weekly “Mi Pueblo”. According to witnesses, the attack took place at approximately 3:00 A.M. (local time) and the aggressors fled in a vehicle. There were no casualties. The incident took place in the center of the Duran neighborhood, in Guayaquil. […]
Photographer Ángelo Chamba threatened by prosecutor, assaulted by policeman
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 11 February 2009, “Diario Hoy” photojournalist Ángelo Chamba was threatened by prosecutor Luis Ramiro Sánchez and assaulted by a policeman while he was covering the arrest of journalist Lourdes Garzón and her brother. Garzón had been accused of preventing the arrest of her brother. The incident took place in Quito, Ecuador’s capital […]
Reporter Adolfo Caiminagua Herrera detained for taking photograph of police officer
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 25 January 2009, a correspondent for the “Diario de Opinión” newspaper, Adolfo Caiminagua Herrera, was detained and mistreated by several police officers when he was covering the closure of the pro-government Alianza País movement’s primary elections. The incident took place in a school in the municipality of Pasaje, in the province of […]
Mayor’s supporters attempt to assault journalist Cléber Barahona
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 7 January 2009, nearly one hundred supporters of the province of Pastaza’s mayor, Óscar Ledesma, burst into Radio Mia seeking to assault journalist Cléber Barahona, who was interviewing Ledesma at the time. The mob was expelled quickly by the station’s personnel. Pastaza is in eastern Ecuador. Ledesma’s supporters got angry when the […]
Radio Inti Pacha journalist faces charges of “inciting rebellion” after indigenous communities stage nationwide anti-mining protests
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has demanded an explanation from the authorities about the reasons and circumstances of the 20 January 2009 arrest of community journalist Francisco Farinango in Ñaño Loma, in the Pichincha region of northern Ecuador. The Radio Inti Pacha reporter was arrested with three other members of his Tupigachi community on the […]
Newspaper continuously harassed by President Rafael Correa
(IPYS/IFEX) – Since 2007, the Guayaquil-based “El Universo” newspaper has been harassed by Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa. Correa has not only publicly alleged that the newspaper makes mistakes and publishes inaccurate information, but he has also discredited and insulted it, accusing it of lacking objectivity because it opposes the government. The last incident took place […]
Investigation reveals irregularities in the granting of broadcasting frequencies
(AMARC/IFEX) – On 22 December 2008, the Coordinator for Popular and Educational Radio in Ecuador (Coordinadora de Radios Populares y Educativas del Ecuador, CORAPE) presented its investigation entitled “From media concentration to the democratisation of the broadcasting spectrum”, which reveals numerous irregularities in the way that radio and television licences were granted to nine business […]
Reporter receives death threats, flees region, IACHR intercedes in case
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders welcomes a decision by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to grant protection to reporter Marlon Torres of Radio Sucumbíos, in the northeastern province of Sucumbíos. Harassed and threatened since 9 November 2008 and the target of a murder attempt on 22 December, Torres fled from Sucumbíos on Christmas […]
Government uses television slots to criticise journalist
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 17, 18 and 19 December 2008, the government interrupted the “Contacto Directo” television programme, which airs on Ecuavisa, to broadcast messages against programme host Carlos Vera. A few days before, Vera had criticised the performance of the Housing Department in the construction of houses in Manabí and Guayas provinces. The government has […]
Editor of weekly newspaper sentenced to 10 months in prison for libel
(IPYS/IFEX) – Journalist Milton Chacaguasay Flores, the editor and owner of the weekly newspaper “La Verdad”, was sentenced to ten months in prison for committing libel against Judge Silvio Castillo. The sentence was issued by a criminal court in the province of El Oro on 15 November 2008. The journalist was arrested on 30 November […]