Ecuador: El Universo journalist and directors sentenced to three years in prison and US$40m fine for libeling President
Posted August 3rd, 2011 by English PEN staff
... In March 2011, President Rafael Correa brought criminal libel charges against Emilio Palacio, columnist for the Guayaquil-based daily El Universo, and the newspaper’s co-directors Carlos Eduardo Pérez Barriga, César Enrique Pérez Barriga and Carlos Nicolás Pérez Enrique over a 6 February 2011 article entitled ‘No to Lies’ (‘No a las mentiras‘).
In the article, Palacio refers to President Correa as “the dictator” and accuses him of wanting to pardon three policemen who were behind an uprising on 30 September 2010 during which several people were killed. He also insinuates that the President may be guilty of crimes against humanity by allegedly ordering troops to open fire on a police hospital where he sought refuge after being attacked by protesters. The President asked the court to sentence each of the defendants to the maximum of three years in prison and to fine them US$50 million under Article 493 of the Ecuadorian Criminal Code. He also sought US$30 million in damages from the newspaper’s parent company.
On 7 July, Palacio resigned from El Universo in the hope that the move would lead President Correa to withdraw the case. However, this proved unsuccessful and the trial began on 19 July, attended by the President in person. The co-directors of El Universo offered to print a correction drafted by the President, an offer which he rejected despite having previously said he would drop the case if such a correction were published.
On 20 July, less than 24 hours after the trial started, the four journalists were sentenced to three years in prison each and fined a total of US$30 million. The paper’s parent company was also ordered to pay an additional US$10 million in damages. According to the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the defendants must also pay US$2 million to the President’s attorneys in legal fees. The IACHR Special Rapporteur also said that prior to the hearing the government had issued several statements disparaging El Universo, its board members and Palacio, and that groups of protesters supportive of the government reportedly insulted the defendants and a witness as they left the tribunal ...
http://www.englishpen.org/ecuador-el-universo-journalist-and-directors-sentenced-to-three-years-in-prison-and-us40m-fine-for-libeling-president/
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