Defamation

389 results arranged by date

(Elpais.com.co)

Latin America takes steps against criminal defamation

In an encouraging development, three courts in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Chile have recently followed the growing regional consensus against criminal defamation by dismissing criminal penalties against journalists accused of libel and slander.The newsweekly magazine Semana reported that a piece written by Alfredo Molano, at left, in the op-ed pages of the Bogota-based daily El Espectador in February 2007 described how…

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Rwandan editor Charles Kabonero fled to Uganda in 2009, but was pursued by Rwandan secuirty officials. (Phil Carpenter)

Three Rwandan journalists sentenced to prison

New York, February 23, 2010—Three journalists were sentenced to prison on Monday in Rwanda over a story reporting on an extramarital affair between the mayor of the capital, Kigali, and a government minister, according to local journalists and news reports.

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Costa Rica eliminates prison terms for defamation

New York, February 12, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Costa Rican legislature to remove criminal defamation provisions from its penal code after a recent Supreme Court decision eliminated prison terms from its 1902 Printing Press Law.

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Kazakh court censors at request of president’s son-in-law

New York, February 4, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a court order issued on Monday that banned all Kazakh media and printing houses from publishing “any information that discredits the honor and dignity” of President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s son-in-law, a high-ranking energy executive.

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Egyptian journalist sentenced to prison for defamation

New York, February 4, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an Egyptian criminal court’s decision on Tuesday to sentence a journalist to one year in prison and a fine of 60,000 Egyptian pounds (US$10,500) on criminal charges filed by another journalist who is also a member of parliament.

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A man peruses newspapers in Dushanbe. (Reuters)

Tajik judges seek millions from weeklies in civil libel case

New York, February 3, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on judges in Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe, to drop their defamation lawsuits against three popular independent weeklies for damage amounts that would bankrupt them.

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Ugandan police take two Monitor journalists to court. (Isaac Kasamani/Monitor)

Museveni accuses two Ugandan journalists of libel

New York, February 3, 2010—An opinion column in Uganda’s leading independent newspaper suggesting parallels between President Yoweri Museveni and former Philippine leader Ferdinand Marcos led to criminal libel charges against two journalists today, according to local media reports.

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(José Flores)

Newspaper editor jailed for defamation in Peru

New York, January 14, 2010—The editor of a Peruvian weekly newspaper in the Amazonian city of Bagua, Utcubamba province, was sentenced on Tuesday to one year in jail on defamation charges, according to local news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists called today for his immediate release.Alejandro Carrascal Carrasco, at right, editor of the Bagua-based…

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Prison term completed, Mauritanian editor still jailed

New York, January 5, 2010—Mauritanian authorities should immediately release an editor who has served his prison term in its entirety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The refusal to free Hanevy Ould Dehah, editor of the online publication Taqadoumy, appears to be unlawful and reflective of the politically motivated nature of the case.

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In Cameroon, jailed editor sentenced for ‘insulting’ Biya

New York, December 29, 2009—A Cameroonian newspaper editor, jailed this month after publishing a book excerpt that alleged sexual activities by President Paul Biya, was convicted on Monday of “insulting the head of state.” 

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