Defamation

On Wednesday, Azerbaijan will assume chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers. The chairmanship process is automatic; the position is rotated every six months among all of the council’s members, in alphabetical order. But Azerbaijan’s chairmanship has proven more problematic than most, as it comes at a time when the country’s fulfillment of…

Bangkok, April 17, 2014–A Thai court today formally charged two journalists for the local Phuketwan news website with criminal defamation, according to news reports. The charges were brought by a Thai navy official. 

New York, April 15, 2014–Authorities in Cameroon should release a newspaper editor who has been imprisoned since March 29 after being convicted of criminal defamation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On Friday, a judge postponed indefinitely a bail hearing for Amungwa Tanyi Nicodemus, according to news reports.

Peruvian journalist César Quino Escudero was sentenced on March 21, 2014, to a six-month suspended prison sentence for defaming the governor of the northeastern state of Ancash, according to news reports. Quino was also fined US$8,400 in damages and sentenced to 120 days of community service.  

Bangkok, April 7, 2014–A Burmese journalist was sentenced to one year in prison today on charges of “trespassing” and “disturbing an on-duty civil servant” while reporting a news story, according to local reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for the verdict to be overturned on appeal. 

In a clear step backwards for press freedom in Burma, new legislation will give the government censorship powers and the sole authority to issue and revoke news publication licenses. While the legislation enshrines into law broad press freedom guarantees, specific provisions will give the Ministry of Information ultimate power over what news is permissible for…

Honduran journalist Julio Ernesto Alvarado was convicted on charges of criminal defamation on December 9, 2013, according to local human rights groups. The Supreme Court of Justice sentenced the journalist, who hosts the news program “Mi Nación” on Globo TV, to 16 months in prison on charges of damaging the reputation of the rector of…

Cape Town, South Africa, February 5, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on police in Angola to release a journalist who has been held since Sunday on accusations of slander and defamation.

Bangkok, December 20, 2013–A Burmese journalist was sentenced to three months in prison on Tuesday on charges of defamation, trespassing, and “using abusive language,” according to local news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the conviction and calls on the court to reverse the verdict on appeal.

Bangkok, December 20, 2013–The Royal Thai Navy should immediately drop the criminal defamation charges lodged on Wednesday against two journalists in connection with a report on alleged military abuses of ethnic Rohingya people, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.