During 2001, Government officials proposed legislation to toughen repressive press laws, castigated local journalists and media outlets, and prosecuted them for criminal defamation. Panama’s so-called gag laws include a range of articles, laws, and decrees–many promulgated under military governments–that criminalize criticism of public officials and permit prior censorship. In December 1999, following a pledge to…
New York, May 15, 2001 — Panamanian radio journalist, columnist, and university professor Miguel Antonio Bernal goes on trial tomorrow in a criminal defamation case filed in 1998 by then-National Police director José Luis Sosa. During a February 1998 broadcast of the news program “TVN-Noticias”, Bernal held the National Police responsible for the decapitation of…
BY EXPOSING CORRUPTION, POLITICAL INTRIGUE, and massive abuse of power, journalists in Peru helped bring down the regime of President Alberto K. Fujimori last year. Fujimori’s dramatic fall demonstrated that the Latin American press remains a key bulwark against leaders who continue to use subtle and not-so subtle means to control the flow of information.…
THE PANAMANIAN GOVERNMENT NOT ONLY FAILED TO LIVE UP TO its promise to repeal the country’s so-called gag laws, but also made several attempts to impose new restrictions in 2000. Meanwhile, several journalists were handed jail sentences for defamation. The gag laws consist of a range of articles, laws, and decrees-many promulgated under military governments-that…
Click here to read more about press freedom conditions in PANAMA New York, August 8, 2000 — In the latest in a series of attacks on the press in Panama, police this morning surrounded the home of Gustavo Gorriti, associate director of the Panama City daily La Prensa, and those of two of his colleagues,…
Click here to read more about press freedom conditions in PANAMA New York, July 26, 2000 — In a much-delayed ruling made public yesterday, Panama’s Supreme Court rejected the writ of habeas corpus filed by journalist Carlos Singares, who had appealed to the high court on June 23 after he was sentenced to eight days…
Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is concerned about the lack of progress in the reform of Panama’s “gag laws.” Two recent cases in which Panamanian journalists were sentenced to prison for allegedly defaming public officials highlight the urgency of abolishing these unjust statutes without delay.
July 21, 2000–The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has written to Panama President Mireya Moscoso to express concern about the lack of progress in the reform of Panama’s “gag laws.” Although Moscoso has stated publicly that such laws have “no possible justification” in Panamanian society, the laws remain on the books and have been used…
Click here to read more about press freedom conditions in PANAMA New York, July 6, 2000 — Panama Attorney General José Antonio Sossa will decide this evening if he will order the arrest of journalist Carlos Singares who is charged with showing “disrespect” for a public official for his story on Sossa’s alleged visits to…
By Marylene SmeetsGovernments in several Latin American countries took steps to bring their media laws up to international standards. But as the Latin American press continued to expose wrongdoing, its very strength rendered it vulnerable to a new kind of harassment: defamation campaigns.