Freedom of the Press 2007: Ecuador
Freedom of the Press 2007: Ecuador
Radio journalist assaulted by skinheads following broadcasts on social diversity
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 16 September 2007, a group of women assaulted journalist Cora Cadena, the hostess of the programme “Transgresor Jatarishun” on Radio Luna, a station based in Quito, capital city of Ecuador. The assailants belong to the neo-Nazi group “cabezas rapadas” (“shaved heads”), which opposes social and ethnical diversity, issues regularly discussed on Cadena’s […]
President calls for more regulatory power over media
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 15 September 2007, during an address broadcast on radio, President Rafael Correa asked the new Constituent Assembly, which will begin its deliberations on 30 September, to further regulate the media so as to “stop them from being able to manipulate information”. The president made this request after declaring that the state should […]
Mining corporation employees threaten to burn down community radio station over coverage
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 10 July 2007, journalist Miguel Andrade, director of the community-based radio station Radio Intag, reported that for several months the station has been threatened by workers of the Ascendant Cooper Corporation mining company, because of its stand against mineral extraction. According to Andrade, during the first week of July they threatened to […]
President stops giving press conferences, calls for “strong” laws to deal with “corrupt and mendacious” press
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF deplores President Rafael Correa’s verbal attacks on the press and above all his decision not to give any more news conferences. The aggressivity of some of the news media towards him is undeniable, but he should try to defuse the tension between the press and the government, RSF said. “Yes, Ecuadorean society […]
Staff of Telesur news channel in Quito receive death threats, one of their vehicles sabotaged
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the death threats that have been being made, since May 2007, against the Quito-based staff of the pan-Latin American television news channel Telesur. This is not the first time the station, launched by the Venezuelan government, has been the target of hostility. RSF calls on the Ecuadorean authorities to act […]
“El Telégrafo” editor alleges government seeking control of newspaper in legal dispute over ownership
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 4 June 2007 IAPA press release: IAPA to keep watch on legal dispute over ownership of Ecuador’s oldest newspaper MIAMI, Florida (June 4, 2007) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) said today that it will keep a close watch on the legal battle between private and state shareholders […]
Journalist faces possible prison sentence if convicted of “insult and calumny”
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF hopes the Quito Supreme Court will not find journalist Celio Rosario Chamba, of “El Correo de Machalá” newspaper, guilty of “insult and calumny” – punishable by imprisonment – for reporting that two veterinary doctors plagiarised a Cuban book in a thesis they wrote, especially as the veterinarians acknowledged having copied much of […]
President calls for imprisonment of “La Hora” director over critical editorial; charges against other media threatened
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is an 11 May 2007 IAPA press release: IAPA protests contempt charge by Ecuador president against local newspaper MIAMI, Florida (May 11, 2007) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today assailed a decision by Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa to invoke an insult law in suing the editor of a local […]
Journalist sentenced to 60 days in prison for quoting comments critical of Pujilí mayor
(RSF/IFEX) – The 60-day prison sentence passed by the high court of the central province of Cotopaxi on Nelson Fueltala, correspondent of “La Gaceta” daily newspaper and of the radio station Radio Latacunga, for allegedly insulting the mayor of Pujilí, was disproportionate and is liable to encourage self-censorship, says RSF. “This ruling is both grossly […]
Presidential candidate Alvaro Noboa accuses journalists of “destroying the country”; RSF fears post-election media witch-hunt
(RSF/IFEX) – On the eve of the 26 November 2006 presidential run-off election between left-winger Rafael Correa and right-winger Alvaro Noboa, RSF has voiced concern that the threats and insults between the two candidates and their supporters that have marked the campaign could result in a witch-hunt against media outlets after the election. “We fear […]
WPFC urges President and other authorities to eliminate “insult” laws
(WPFC/IFEX) – The following is a 12 June 2006 WPFC letter to President Alfredo Palacios: June 12, 2006 His Excellency Dr. Alfredo Palacios President of the Republic of Ecuador Presidential Palace Quito, Ecuador Your Excellency: On behalf of the World Press Freedom Committee ( http://www.wpfc.org ) – an organization representing 45 press freedom groups from […]
Army detains journalists, suspends broadcasts by radio station
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 22 March 2006, members of the Ecuadorian army shut down the Inti Pacha community-based radio station in the town of Cayambe, 60 kilometers north of Quito. The move followed the 21 March declaration of a national state of emergency. The soldiers also detained two of the station’s journalists, William Ramos and Julio […]
Ecuador signs press freedom declaration
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 15 March 2006 IAPA press release: Ecuador Signs Press Freedom Declaration Miami (March 15, 2006) – The heads of the three branches of government in Ecuador will sign the Declaration of Chapultepec on Sunday during the opening of the first session of the Midyear Meeting of the Inter American […]
State of emergency declared in three provinces; military detains journalists, media workers, seizes their recordings and photos
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 10 March 2006, the head of the Army’s IV Division, General Gonzalo Meza, ordered the detention of all journalists, camera operators and photographers who were covering an assembly of government officials and citizens of the province of Orellana, in eastern Ecuador. The order was issued under the state of emergency decreed in […]
Another journalist murdered in Guayaquil, the second in 24 hours
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders is shocked by the murder of freelance photographer Saúl Suárez Sandoval, who contributed to the dailies “La Hora Durandeña” and “La Prensa de Durán”. He was shot dead on 14 February 2006 in Durán, a suburb of Guayaquil in southwestern Ecuador, 24 hours after the killing in the same city […]