President Correa on Assange in a recent interview.

[treestar]

18. Nothing like described in my prior post

Happens on a regular basis in the US. Occupy movement was not violently suppressed. It's still going on. No one goes to jail but for breaking the law.

And look at this, from the State Report:

Freedom of Speech: President Correa and his government continued verbal and legal attacks against the press during the year. The president regularly stated that the press was his “biggest enemy” and increasingly filed libel lawsuits against journalists. He also publicly encouraged government officials and private individuals to bring cases against the media.

Generally, individuals could criticize the government publicly or privately without reprisal. However, it is illegal to threaten or insult the president or executive branch, and violators can be reprimanded with six months’ to two years’ imprisonment or a fine of $16 to $77.

On February 26, the presidential guard briefly detained Marco Luis Sovenis after he shouted “fascist” at the president. In his weekly address on March 5, President Correa stated: “Like it or not, in this country it is a crime to shout ‘fascist’ at the president… We are going to bring the relevant criminal charges.” However, Sovenis was never formally charged.

I mean come on. Illegal to insult the president? If we had that law, we could put Rushbo and Sarah Palin in jail. Most of us could have been arrested during the Shrub Presidency.