Ecuador

(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders (RSF) expressed its dismay at the murder on the night of 13 – 14 February 2006, of José Luis León Desiderio, of Radio Minutera, in Guayaquil, in southwestern Ecuador. The journalist was found dead, with a single gunshot wound to the head, close to his home in the Bastión Popular […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders welcomes President Alfredo Palacio’s decision, announced on 29 December 2005, to veto an amendment of the criminal code that was passed by Congress on 30 November, as one of its articles, which caused a great deal of controversy, would have exposed journalists to the possibility of long prison sentences. Ecuadorean […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has voiced concern about the implications for the news media of a criminal law amendment passed by the Ecuadorean congress on 30 November 2005 under which journalists could receive heavy prison sentences for broadcasting or publishing a telephone conversation without the express permission of the participants. “We are aware that […]

(PROBIDAD/IFEX) – Approximately ten radio stations have been forced to suspend news broadcasts in Orellana and Sucumbíos provinces in the Amazon region since 14 August 2005, due to the imposition of a state of emergency. Among them is Radio Sucumbíos, a station well-respected in the area for its investigative journalism and news reporting. All of […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the action of the Ecuadorian police in tapping and recording the phone calls of journalists Milton Pérez and Maria Fernanda Zavala, of local television station Teleamazonas. The journalists have been under surveillance since 20 April 2005, the date of President Lucio Gutiérrez’s overthrow in a popular uprising. “The sole aim […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the violence against the press that has occurred amid the turmoil of the past few days, which ultimately led to President Lucio Gutiérrez’s overthrow on 20 April 2005. The organisation also deplored the death of Chilean freelance photographer Julio Augusto García during a 19 April demonstration in Quito. “There is […]

(AMARC/IFEX) – The following is joint statement by a coalition of civil society groups, including AMARC: Over the last few days, Radio La Luna, the station that has joined in Quito’s civil disobedience, has been jammed and silenced. For the last six days, the station has opened its airwaves to the public so that they […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned a bomb attack on Radio Canela station in the early hours of 4 February 2005 as “a serious press freedom violation.” The organisation urged the authorities to extensively investigate the incident in order to promptly identify and apprehend those responsible. Radio Canela is based in Macas, 240 km southeast of […]

(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 14 January 2005 IAPA press release: IAPA pleased with regulations for implementation of access to information law in Ecuador Miami (January 14, 2005) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has expressed its pleasure with the recent approval by the Executive Branch in Ecuador of regulations for the implementation […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is an 11 November 2004 CPJ press release: ECUADOR: Supreme Court upholds sentence against journalist New York, November 11, 2004 – Ecuador’s Supreme Court of Justice upheld the conviction of columnist Rodrigo Fierro Benítez on criminal defamation charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists has learned. The Supreme Court then suspended Fierro’s […]

(AMARC/IFEX) – The Quito-based FM radio station La Luna, an AMARC associate, faces possible closure by President Lucio Gutiérrez’s government. According to station director Paco Velasco, government officials intend to shut down La Luna. Velasco said the government plans to impose sanctions on the station via the Ecuadorian Broadcasting Association (Asociación Ecuatoriana de Radiodifusión). The […]

(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is a 13 May 2004 IAPA press release: IAPA Hemispheric Summit Signing of New Law on Access to Information in Ecuador A summary of the Summit is available at http://www.sipiapa.com/summit Miami (May 13, 2004) – The passing of a new law on access to information in Ecuador was received as “positive […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has expressed great concern over the recent decline in press freedom in Ecuador. The organisation strongly condemned the murder of Ricardo Mendoza, the driver of Telesistema TV station director Carlos Muñoz Insua, during an attempt to kill the journalist on 9 February 2004. The organisation also deplored the harassment of radio stations […]

(IPYS/IFEX) – On 9 February 2004, Carlos Muñoz, president of the Telesistema television station, was injured in an attack that resulted in the death of his driver, Ricardo Mendoza. The incident occurred at 10:15 p.m. (local time), as Muñoz was heading home, on the road to Samborondón, Guayas province, Guyaquil, when his vehicle was intercepted […]

(AMARC/IFEX) – On 3 and 4 February 2004, President Lucio Gutiérrez and other officials threatened to close down La Luna (99.3 FM) radio station. In addition, the station’s director reported that he received threatening phone calls directed at his family. In recent days, indigenous people and other citizens have held demonstrations to express their support […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 28 January 2004 CPJ letter to Supreme Court Chair Hugo Quintana Coello: January 28, 2004 His Excellency Hugo Quintana Coello President of the Supreme Court of Justice Republic of Ecuador Av. Naciones Unidas y Amazonas Quito, Ecuador Via facsimile: +593-22-438-601 Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a […]