Ecuador / Americas

  
Reuters/Henry Romero

The U-turn: Moreno steers Ecuador away from Correa’s media repression

The administration of President Lenín Moreno has dramatically diverged from that of his predecessor, Rafael Correa, who was severely critical of the Ecuadoran press and passed one of the most restrictive media laws in the region. Nonetheless, journalists say they will be wary until Moreno fulfills his promises to scale back the Communications Law and…

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Reuters/Henry Romero

The U-turn:

CPJ’s work in Ecuador Over the last 10 years, CPJ has viewed the situation in Ecuador as a priority in Latin America and documented the deteriorating press freedom environment under former President Rafael Correa through special reports, articles, and reporting trips to the country. In a 2011 report, “Confrontation, Repression in Correa’s Ecuador,” CPJ analyzed…

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Reuters/Henry Romero

The U-turn:

Recommendations The Committee to Protect Journalists offers the following recommendations:

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Reuters/Henry Romero

The U-turn:

Correa’s critics disadvantaged online, especially on Twitter Long before other world leaders took to Twitter, Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa was using social media and other digital tools to air grievances and abuse his adversaries. After joining Twitter in July 2011 (with a tweet about a boring meeting), Correa quickly joined forces with another social media-savvy…

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Colombian photographers leave the cameras on the floor in front of the Ecuadorean embassy in Bogota, Colombia, on April 16, 2018, to protest against the murder of journalist Javier Ortega, photographer Paul Rivas and their driver Efrain Segarra, (Reuters/Jaime Saldarriaga)

CPJ calls for justice for Ecuadoran reporting team killed in Colombia

Bogotá, Colombia, April 17, 2018–Authorities in Ecuador and Colombia must conduct a transparent investigation into the kidnapping and killing of an Ecuadoran reporting team in Colombia and ensure all those responsible face justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Relatives and friends hold pictures in Quito on April 1 of Ecuadoran photojournalist Paul Rivas, left, journalist Javier Ortega, center, and their driver Efrain Segarra, who were kidnapped near the Colombian border and later killed. (Reuters/Daniel Tapia)

Two journalists, driver killed after being kidnapped in northern Ecuador

New York, April 13, 2018 –The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the killing of three members of an Ecuadoran reporting team who were kidnapped on March 26 in northern Ecuador near the Colombian border and called for the perpetrators to face justice. President Lenín Moreno confirmed today that reporter Javier Ortega, photojournalist Paúl Rivas,…

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Police control traffic in a street in Ecuador's capital, Quito, in February 2017. Three members of a reporting team were abducted on March 26 while reporting in the country's northern Esmeraldas province. (Reuters/Mariana Bazo)

Two journalists, driver kidnapped in Ecuador near Colombia border

New York, March 27, 2018 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today called for the immediate release of three members of a reporting team from the daily El Comercio newspaper, who were kidnapped yesterday morning in northern Ecuador near the Colombian border.

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Ecuador pledges to reform repressive media law

Country needs free press for Moreno’s fight against corruption Quito, Ecuador, March 16, 2018 –The government of Ecuador pledged in a meeting Wednesday with the Committee to Protect Journalists to reform an oppressive communications law this year and to invite international experts to visit the country and analyze Ecuador’s compliance with international legal standards.

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Journalists and protesters hold placards outside an Istanbul court on October 31, 2017, calling for the release of jailed colleagues, including Turkish reporter Ahmet Şık. Turkey is the worst jailer of journalists in 2017. (AP/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Record number of journalists jailed as Turkey, China, Egypt pay scant price for repression

For the second year in a row, the number of journalists imprisoned for their work hit a historical high, as the U.S. and other Western powers failed to pressure the world’s worst jailers–Turkey, China, and Egypt–into improving the bleak climate for press freedom. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser

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A vendor waits for customers while selling newspapers on his motorcycle, one week after an earthquake in Pedernales, Ecuador. A local journalist says years of self-censorship among the press led to 'timid' early reports of the disaster. (AP/Rodrigo Abd)

Correa’s legacy leaves a long road to recovery for Ecuador’s journalists

Since taking office in May, Ecuadoran President Lenín Moreno has pledged to end a decade-long battle between the government and the media. But several reporters and editors with whom CPJ spoke said that the anti-press campaign carried out by Moreno’s predecessor, former President Rafael Correa, has caused lasting damage to journalism in Ecuador.

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