Attacks on the Press in 2011: State Media As Anti-Media Tool
In some Latin American countries, state-owned media are used not only for propaganda but as platforms to smear critics, including journalists. Some elected leaders have even invested in large multimedia holdings to further their agendas. By Carlos Lauría
In Ecuador, a crushed and silenced democracy
The sentence against Ecuadoran newspaper El Universo, its opinion editor, Emilio Palacio Urrutia, and its three top executives, Carlos Eduardo Pérez Barriga, César Enrique Pérez Barriga, and Carlos Nicolás Pérez Lapentti, for supposed offenses against Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa in Palacio’s article “NO to lies,” is a worn-out manifestation of the perverse concept of public…
In Ecuador, reforms restrict election coverage for media
New York, January 31, 2012–Reforms to Ecuador’s electoral law that will take effect on February 4 could hamper the ability of the country’s journalists to cover political campaigns and elections, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
OAS should stand firm against Correa
Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has a torrid relationship with press freedom. His arsenal of repression includes such tactics as pre-empting private broadcasts to denounce the presenters, bankrupting papers through defamation suits, and publicly shouting down critics who dare question him.In his latest attempt to censor free expression Correa has targeted the office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, an independent…
Insulza must repudiate attacks against IACHR
Dear Mr. Insulza: The Committee to Protect Journalists has been monitoring with increasing concern an offensive launched by the government of Ecuador aimed at weakening the Inter-American human rights system, an effort that if successful could represent a serious blow to freedom of expression in the hemisphere.
In Ecuador, defamation case could set dangerous precedent
A controversial 2011 defamation verdict against the leading Ecuadoran daily El Universo, which became a symbol of vastly deteriorating press conditions under President Rafael Correa, appears headed to a final determination. The nation’s highest court is due to hear the newspaper’s appeal, although the hearing date itself is still subject to intense debate. The ramifications…
CPJ to hold Ecuadoran authorities accountable for threats
New York, November 11, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reported death threats against César Ricaurte, head of the Ecuadoran press freedom group Fundamedios, which follow a concerted campaign by local authorities to discredit the group and foster a climate of intimidation against independent media and local press freedom activists.
Reserved for press
CPJ’s Carlos Lauria, senior program coordinator for the Americas, took Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa to task on his dismal record on maintaining a free press at the Columbia University on Friday, September 23. When Lauria charged Correa with using the courts to silence and imprison critics he lashed out, claiming Lauria was “lying and a…