(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter addressed to Carlos Renfeldh, president of the Court of Appeal in Villarica, Paraguay, RSF expressed its concern over the sentence of “disciplinary arrest” received by Nino Silguero and Norma Acuña, two journalists with the Radio Penambí Vera station in Villarica (located 150 km south of Asuncion). RSF urged Renfeldh to […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter addressed to Carlos Renfeldh, president of the
Court of Appeal in Villarica, Paraguay, RSF expressed its concern over the
sentence of “disciplinary arrest” received by Nino Silguero and Norma Acuña,
two journalists with the Radio Penambí Vera station in Villarica (located
150 km south of Asuncion). RSF urged Renfeldh to repeal Judge Norma Jara de
Benítez’s 23 June 1999 decision passing the “disciplinary arrest” sentence.
Robert Ménard, RSF’s secretary general, reminded Renfeldh “that a prison
sentence for a press related crime is considered by international human
rights organizations, including the United Nations Human Rights Commission,
as disproportionate in relation to the damage suffered by the victim.”
**Updates IFEX alert of 14 July 1999**
According to RSF’s information, Silguero and Acuña have been accused by the
judge of insulting her on the air. The two journalists state that they were
simply reporting on comments made against the judge during a demonstration
held by workers in support of two of their colleagues who were imprisoned
for “disturbing public peace.”
