Ecuadorean journalist granted asylum in Miami

[struggle4progress]

7. Ecuador court sentences journalists to prison in Presidential libel case

22 juillet 2011
Ecuador court sentences journalists to prison in Presidential libel case
The libel case comes amid concerns about freedom of expression in Ecuador

An Ecuadoran judge’s harsh sentence against a newspaper that criticized the President will have a chilling effect on freedom of expression in the country, Amnesty International said today.

A court in the coastal city of Guayaquil on Wednesday sentenced three directors and a former columnist of El Universo to three years in prison and imposed punitive damages totalling US$40 million.

Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa sued the newspaper for criminal libel after a February 2011 column called him a “dictator”.

“This harsh sentence is an attack on the right to free speech for everyone in Ecuador, and will discourage journalists from engaging in legitimate criticism of the government,” said Guadalupe Marengo, Amnesty International’s Deputy Americas Director ...

http://www.amnesty.org/fr/node/25752