9 Feb 2011 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
Journalist Gustavo Azócar is being prosecuted again on the charge of libelling an army officer in 2004. This comes as part of a series of actions which have been brought against him, and has provoked accusations of judicial harassment. The allegation relates to an article which Azócar wrote as a correspondent for El Universal. The story concerned purported trafficking in identity papers by the National Office for Identification and Foreigners. Azócar has repeatedly invited the soldier to use his guaranteed right of reply. He indicated that he would do so when he received permission from the defence ministry, which has still not been granted.
19 Aug 2010 | Index Index, minipost
Yesterday (18 August) El Nacional, a leading Venezuelan newspaper ran a front page with “censored” written across it. The move was a response to a Caracas court ruling that has effectively banned newspapers from publishing images of violence or bloody scenes. El Nacional was found guilty of publishing pictures which may have been harmful to children after it ran a photo showed dead bodies at a morgue. The anti-Chavez publication was told that it may be fined up to two per cent of its revenue for its actions. The newspaper’s editor has accused the government of trying to cover up violent crime in run-up to next month’s election.
18 May 2010 | Index Index, minipost
On 13 May, opposition figure Oswaldo Alvarez Paz, a critic of President Hugo Chavez, was freed on parole until his trial on charges of spreading false information. Álvarez Paz was arrested on 22 March for claiming the government had links to drug traffickers and criminal gangs. Venezuela bans individuals from making comments that threaten peace and stability.
31 Mar 2010 | Index Index, minipost
On 25 March, journalist Gustavo Azocar, host of “Café con Azócar,” a news and political commentary of Televisora del Táchira, was sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment for illegal profiting in acts of public administration. Judge José Hernán Oliveros found the journalist guilty of fraud in the signing of a 2000 advertising contract between the state lottery and Radio Noticias 106, where he was working at the time. Azocar, an outspoken critic of Chavez’s government, was released from prison, where he had been held since July 2009, and he will be able to serve his sentence on probation.
