(PFC/IFEX) – A defamation complaint has been launched against journalist Carlos Mauricio Flores, editor-in-chief of “El Heraldo” newspaper, which is published in the capital, Tegucigalpa. The complaint was filed by Gloria Maritza García Suárez, a lawyer who was mentioned in an October 2003 “El Heraldo” article about drug trafficking. On 29 April 2004, a Tegucigalpa […]
(PFC/IFEX) – A defamation complaint has been launched against journalist Carlos Mauricio Flores, editor-in-chief of “El Heraldo” newspaper, which is published in the capital, Tegucigalpa. The complaint was filed by Gloria Maritza García Suárez, a lawyer who was mentioned in an October 2003 “El Heraldo” article about drug trafficking.
On 29 April 2004, a Tegucigalpa court summoned Flores to attend a 4 May reconciliation hearing with the plaintiffs. If the reconciliation hearing is unsuccessful, the journalist will be brought before the courts.
Flores is accused of defaming García Suárez for having reported that she “represents individuals who are in some way linked to drug trafficking or other illegal activities.”
On 20 October 2003, “El Heraldo” published an article about alleged links between drug trafficking in Honduras and members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC), one of the most powerful guerrilla groups in Colombia. According to the “El Heraldo” article, the relationship between the FARC and drug trafficking in Honduras is facilitated by an individual named Ethalson Mejía Hoy, to whom García Suárez provides legal counsel.
According to García Suárez, the allegations made in the “El Heraldo” article caused her to lose a contract worth US$40,000 and have resulted in health problems for her and one of her children. In the complaint, she stated that, on 23 October 2003, she “lost a baby as a result of the stress” and she blames Flores for the loss.
Flores told the Committee for Free Expression (Comité por la Libre Expresión, C-Libre) that the day after the article was published, García Suárez and Mejía Hoy came to the newspaper’s offices to threaten him. At one point, Mejía Hoy attempted to hit Flores with a chair, but was stopped by other journalists who witnessed the incident. A complaint about the incident was filed with the national human rights commissioner, who took statements from the journalists.
“El Heraldo” granted those mentioned in the article their right of reply, as is established under Honduran law, but García Suárez said she was not satisfied because “the accused did not retract anything.”
