CPJ urges OAS not to weaken human rights system
Dear OAS Ministers of Foreign Affairs: Ahead of the assembly of the Organization of American States on Friday, the Committee to Protect Journalists urges you to oppose any attempts to debilitate the regional human rights system. The failure of member states to preserve the autonomy and independence of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and its special rapporteur on freedom of expression would make citizens throughout the hemisphere more vulnerable to human rights violations and represent a blow to democracy in the Americas.
Newspaper director gets jail for defamation in Ecuador
New York, March 12, 2013–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the prison sentence issued Friday to Yaco Martínez, director of the daily La Nación in the province of Carchi. Martínez was convicted of defaming a former governor with an article published in his newspaper, according to news reports.
Battle between Correa, Ecuadoran press to wage on
In the wake of President Rafael Correa’s landslide re-election on Sunday, many Ecuadoran reporters are bracing for another four years of conflict with his left-leaning government. Neither side claims to relish the prospect, but continued clashes seem inevitable given the bad blood that has developed between them.
Attacks on the Press in 2012: CPJ Risk List Video
CPJ’s Robert Mahoney identifies the 10 countries where press freedom suffered the most in 2012. They include Syria, the world’s deadliest country for the press; Russia, where repressive laws took effect; Brazil, where journalist murders soared; and Ethiopia, where terror laws are used to silence the press. (3:26)
Attacks on the Press in 2012: Ecuador
The press freedom climate continued its sharp decline under President Rafael Correa. Courts upheld defamation convictions against executives of the daily El Universo and authors of the book Big Brother in connection with their critical coverage of the Correa administration. The president, who initiated the complaints, later pardoned the journalists, but the rulings cast a…
Attacks on the Press: Killed in 2012: A Worldwide Roundup
Killed in 2012: A Worldwide Roundup The number of journalists killed in the line of duty rose sharply in 2012, as the war in Syria, a record number of shootings in Somalia, continued violence in Pakistan, and a worrying increase in Brazilian murders contributed to a 49 percent increase in deaths from the previous…
Electoral law dulls reporting as Correa nears re-election
It’s by far the dullest space in the newspaper: Every day in El Universo, Ecuador’s leading daily, readers can find eight small photos and news blurbs summing up the activities of the eight presidential candidates. The articles are the same size and blocked together in a layout that resembles a tic-tac-toe game, minus the ninth…