New York, August 29, 2001—The Chilean Supreme Court has refused to consider journalist Alejandra Matus’ appeal against the court-ordered banning of The Black Book of Chilean Justice, her muckraking book about the Chilean judiciary. Matus’ book was banned more than two years ago. Since then, several court rulings have upheld the ban, even though a…
New York, August 6, 2001—The Santiago Appeals Court refused to consider journalist Alejandra Matus’ petition to authorize the circulation of The Black Book of Chilean Justice, her muckraking exposé of the Chilean judiciary that was banned more than two years ago. The Chilean judiciary seems unwilling to lift the ban even though a new press…
New York, May 25, 2001 — Chilean president Ricardo Lagos has signed a new law that repeals several provisions of the country’s infamous State Security Law, including one (Article 6b) that made it a crime against public order to insult high officials. First proposed eight years ago, the new “Law on Freedoms of Opinion and…
New York, April 20, 2001 — The Chilean Senate repealed several provisions of the country’s infamous State Security Law, including one (Article 6b) that makes it a crime against public order to insult high officials. First proposed eight years ago, the new “Law on Freedoms of Opinion and Information and the Practice of Journalism,” known…
New York, March 23, 2001 — CPJ today submitted an amicus curiae brief to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in the case of Chilean journalist Alejandra Matus. Matus faces criminal defamation charges in Chile stemming from the April 1999 publication of The Black Book of Chilean Justice, her muckraking investigation of the Chilean…
THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OF FORMER DICTATOR GEN. AUGUSTO PINOCHET and other military officers severely tested the independence of the Chilean judiciary at a time when the courts were being used to harass journalists investigating official corruption. After narrowly defeating rightist candidate Joaquín Lavín in a January 16 run-off election, Ricardo Lagos took office on March…
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.
June 17,1999 His Excellency Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle President of the Republic of Chile Palacio de la Moneda Santiago, CHILE Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to strongly condemn the arrest and indictment of Bartolo Ortíz, CEO of Planeta Publishing Company, and Carlos Orellana, chief editor of Planeta. Ortíz and Orellana face…
17 de junio de 1999 Su Excelencia Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle Presidente de la República de Chile Palacio de la Moneda Santiago, CHILE Su Excelencia, El Comité para la Protección de Periodistas (CPJ) condena enérgicamente el arresto y procesamiento de Bartolo Ortiz, gerente general de Editorial Planeta y de Carlos Orellana, editor general de Planeta. Ortíz…
June 8, 1999 His Excellency Hikmet Sami T&uulm;rk Minister of Justice Ankara, Turkey Your Excellency, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply alarmed by the recent arrest and indictment of Hasan Deniz, editor of the daily &Oulm;zg&uulm;r Bakis. On June 4, state prosecutors at the Istanbul State Security Court charged Deniz with violating Article…