(PFC/IFEX) – Journalist Renato Álvarez, host of the debate programme “Frente a Frente”, broadcast on Televicentro Corporation’s stations 3, 5 and 7, has negotiated a resolution to one of three complaints launched against him for disclosing a report in June 2003 that revealed alleged connections to drug-trafficking in Honduras. Resolution negotiated in one of three […]
(PFC/IFEX) – Journalist Renato Álvarez, host of the debate programme “Frente a Frente”, broadcast on Televicentro Corporation’s stations 3, 5 and 7, has negotiated a resolution to one of three complaints launched against him for disclosing a report in June 2003 that revealed alleged connections to drug-trafficking in Honduras.
Resolution negotiated in one of three legal actions against journalist Renato Álvarez
In a reconciliation hearing with the plaintiffs, Álvarez based his argument on constitutional precepts and international agreements that guarantee freedom of expression, the right to information and protection of sources. He reiterated his position that, in disclosing the information, his intent was not to damage the image of anyone in particular, but rather to question the fact that a report of this nature had not been made public for a year and had not been investigated by the Honduran authorities.
The plaintiffs, former Preventive Police commissioner Alvaro Flores Ponce, and his brother, police officer Jimmy Flores Ponce, accepted the journalist’s explanations. They requested a public clarification and indicated that they did not intend to harm Álvarez’s work or the exercise of free expression.
Álvarez’s lawyer, Enrique Flores Lanza, told the Committee for Free Expression (Comité por la Libre Expresión, C-Libre) that the reconciliation was beneficial for both parties. The journalist does not have to retract his statements or reveal his source and the plaintiffs are only requiring a clarification in terms that are favourable to Álvarez. “We believe that this agreement also serves as a precedent for the other two legal actions the journalist is facing for having disclosed the report. It demonstrates that the plaintiffs do not want to damage freedom of expression and journalists’ work, nor do they want to restrict the right to information,” Flores Lanza added.
Álvarez faces two other legal actions for the same case, after the failure of reconciliation hearings in August.
For further information on the case, see:
http://portal-pfc.org/perseguidos/2003/084.html
The journalist can be contacted by e-mail at entrevistatvc@univision.com.
This alert has been prepared by PFC with information from C-Libre.
