CPJ to release comparative study of criminal defamation laws in the Americas
New York, February 8, 2016–The Committee to Protect Journalists will release a special report on the status of criminal defamation laws in the Americas. This new report, prepared for CPJ by Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in collaboration with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, seeks to advise journalists of the legal risks they face in their work, and shows that criminal defamation prosecutions are still widespread throughout the hemisphere. The report, which found that 32 of 33 countries in the Americas maintain criminal penalties for defamation, will be released online in English and Spanish and presented at a panel discussion in Lima on March 2, 2016. The Perú-based Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS) will co-sponsor the event.
WHAT: Critics Are Not Criminals: Comparative Study of Criminal Defamation Laws in the Americas.
WHEN: March 2, 2016 between 10 AM and 1 PM
WHERE: Sol de Oro Hotel & Suites, Lima, Perú.
Online: www.cpj.org
Note to editors: Advance copies of the report will be available upon request and interviews may be arranged prior to launch date. The report will be published in English and Spanish.