Aponte, a reporter for local radio station Luz y Vida in the southwestern city of Loja, was convicted of slander and sentenced to six months in prison, according to César Ricaurte, executive director of the local press group Fundamedios. The conviction, handed down by a Loja court in early year, was upheld on appeal in September.
The case stems from a June 2007 segment of Aponte’s talk show “Primer Plano.” The former Loja mayor, José Bolívar Castillo Vivanco, filed defamation charges against the journalist, alleging Aponte called him a thief during the show, according to Fundamedios. Aponte denied the charge, local press reports said.