28 Feb 12 | Americas
When Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa issued Monday a presidential pardon and forgave a multi-million dollar fine and prison terms for a former editorial writer and three owners of the Ecuadorean daily, El Universo, the impact of the case on press freedom was already irreversible. The accusations left an indelible mark on anyone’s desire to challenge President Correa on his presidential duties.
The presidential pardon also benefitted two book authors who had been accused by Correa in a civil libel case that sought $1 million dollars in damages, charging the writers with defamation for an investigation on alleged suspicions that President Correa’s brother engaged in corrupt practices linked to government-issued contracts. Both the book authors, Juan Carlos Calderón and Christian Zurita, and El Universo publishers and editor, were dragged through the Ecuadorian legal system for months, facing a formidable government campaign.
Correa’s announcement came as Ecuador had to show up at a special hearing before the Organization of American States legal body, The Inter American Human Rights Court. In early February the Court issued a request asking Correa to stop the sentence against the daily and the other journalists.
El Universo replied that it had to review the presidential pardon to respond accordingly. The presidential pardon only erased the sentences from the record but not the legal edict issued by the National Justice Court, which remains on the books as a legal precedent. This factor, according to several international press freedom organisations, could lead to future actions against the press.
As it is often the case in causes célèbres, public opinion forgot the content of the editorial that unleashed the Ecuadorean President’s unhappiness. In it, the editorial director, Emilio Palacio, wrote that Correa´s decision to have government forces fire against a civilian hospital during a police uprising in 2010 could lead to future accusations of crimes of less humanity.
El Universo is an 89-year-old daily that was known for its centrist positions. Its long-time publisher died in 2002 and three of his sons, Oscar, Nicolas and Cesar Perez took over the leadership of the daily. Emilio Palacios, who worked at the daily remained in charge of the editorial page. Emilio Palacio is the brother of former Ecuadoran President Alfredo Palacio, who was in office from 2005 to 2007. Correa was Alfredo Palacio´s Minister of Finance, but he resigned after a year, because of disagreements over the economic policies of Palacios.
21 Feb 12 | Americas, Index Index, minipost
Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli offered asylum to Ecuadoran publisher Carlos Pérez Barriga, one of the owners of the El Universo newspaper. Last week Pérez was sentenced to three years in prison and 26m GBP in fines for defaming Ecuadoran president Rafael Correa. Emilio Palacio, the journalist who penned the editorial that provoked Correa’s libel complaint, has sought asylum in the US. Pérez’s brothers — who are co-owners — are also currently in the United States and reportedly fear returning to Ecuador.
16 Feb 12 | Americas, Index Index, minipost
Ecuador‘s highest court has upheld a criminal libel verdict favouring President Rafael Correa, sentencing three newspaper executives and a columnist each to three years in prison ordering them to pay a total of around 26 million GBP in damages. The case was brought by Correa against opposition paper El Universo, which published a column that referred to the president as “the Dictator”, claiming he “ordered discretionary fire — without prior notification — against a hospital full of civilians and innocent people” during a September 2010 police revolt over government plans to cut police benefits that claimed at least five lives. The verdict is not subject to appeal.
10 Jan 12 | Americas
Tension has been escalating between the Organisation of American States’ Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression and Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa. Special Rapporteur Catalina Botero has turned a watchful eye towards Ecuador, criticising President Correa’s attacks on the news media. Botero’s office has now come under fire, after President Correa and President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela dismissed criticism from Botero’s office, claiming that the office is too harsh with governments of nations such as Ecuador.
The OAS will now meet on 25 January to consider a Chavez-Correa proposal to review the freedom of expression office and limit its jurisdiction.
The office, which was created in 1997 but under Botero, a respected Columbian jurist, it has worked hard to protect journalists under threat in Latin America. Its hard line on human rights violations has even earned it funding from the European Union and other Latin American countries.
Botero’s work has earned the wrath of both Chavez and Correa. Correa recently attacked the OAS for allegedly being under U.S. control at the inaugural meeting for the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States early last month. Both nations have faced criticism from the organisation for restrictions on free expression. Chavez closed down a number of radio stations and television channels for critical reports. Correa sued the daily El Universo of Guayaquil for critical editorials. The daily, the largest in Ecuador, now faces fear of collapse because of financial strain from legal proceedings for former editor Emilio Pacheco, who fled to the United States after Correa charged him with treason. The charge is now being appealed.
The thinly-veiled attack on the Rapporteur’s office seeks to utilise administrative controls to prevent it from publishing independent annual reports and forbid independent fundraising from sources apart from the OAS. The decision has been condemned by the Human Rights Watch office responsible for the region.
While the proposed changes even include a code of conduct that could silence the rapporteur, reactions to the proposed changes have been tepid.
