Ecuador

IFEX – a global network of over 100 organisations dedicated to promoting and defending freedom of expression and information – is deeply concerned over threats against César Ricaurte, Executive Director of the Fundación Andina para la Observación y el Estudio de Medios (Fundamedios). The threats began after he received a sentence of 15 days in prison and a demand for an official apology for his public rebuke of former ambassador Jorge Jurado.

Ecuador should drop all charges against Ola Bini, and allow him to return home to his family and friends. Ecuador’s leaders undermine their country’s reputation abroad and the independence of its judicial system by this fanciful and unfounded prosecution.

Almost seven months ago, journalists Javier Ortega, Paul Rivas, and Efrain Segarra were abducted and killed at the border between Ecuador and Colombia. A team of 20 reporters investigated what happened.

The alliance will seek to prove that impunity will not win, and that it is possible to work “in real time” for justice.

The administration of President Lenín Moreno has dramatically diverged from that of his predecessor, Rafael Correa, who was severely critical of the Ecuadoran press and passed one of the most restrictive media laws in the region.

The IFEX-ALC network is calling for the prompt and transparent investigation of the murder of a journalism team along the Colombia-Ecuador border.

Over 500 Ecuadorean journalists and rights organizations have signed a letter calling for the governments of Colombia and Ecuador to take immediate action to protect a team of journalists abducted by militants on their mutual border.

On October 15, a Twitter user with the handle alerta_911 wrote that he wanted to shoot journalist Janet Hinostroza, and added that “this is how we clean up the dirty and corrupt press.”

Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno promises a new era of press freedom and urges journalists to investigate government corruption.

The stigmatizing speech and insults against journalists and activists during weekly broadcasts and the almost daily attacks against the media have decreased dramatically, according to Fundamedios.

Days before general elections scheduled for 19 February, a makeshift explosive device was sent to award-winning TV journalist Janet Hinostroza.

After a rocky 10-year relationship between the media and outgoing president Rafael Correa, what can Ecuador’s new leader do to improve free expression in the country?

Press freedom groups and relatives of journalist Fernando Villavicencio, who recently announced his intention to run as an opposition party candidate for the National Assembly, say the charges demonstrate political prosecution.

“All of this process and the absurd conclusion demonstrate that in Ecuador, you can’t do investigative journalism, that the Communications Law is made to shut up journalists who make the authorities uncomfortable,” says journalist Janet Hinostroza.

A campaign was set in motion by the Telesur network on 6 June 2016 in which Ecuadorian journalists and opposition politicians are accused of having connections with the CIA in order to destabilise the government of President Correa.

If there is anything that stands out from Fundamedios’ research on how the media and journalists were impacted in the earthquake, it is the unbeatable will to get back to the task of communicating as soon as possible.