On Dec. 9, Costa Rican courts opened an avenue to appeal criminal libel sentences thanks to an Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) case involving a defamation charge against a journalist, reported AFP.
Journalist Mauricio Herrera Ulloa was charged with criminal defamation in 1999 and ordered to pay damages equal to 120 days worth of wages for publishing a series of articles in the newspaper La Nación accusing the ex-diplomat Félix Przedborski of corruption, explained the Costa Rican Union of Journalists. As a result, Herrera's name was added to a national list of convicted criminals, reported the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
When all existing avenues to appeal the sentence had been exhausted, Herrera and La Nación brought their case before the IACHR. In 2004, the IACHR ruled in favor of the journalist and annulled the 1999 charge, arguing that the state had violated "freedom of thought and expression," according to CPJ.
The IACHR ordered the Costa Rican state to pay Herrera $30,000 in damages and legal fees. Following the decision, Costa Rica opened an avenue to request a legal review to reverse a criminal charge, according to AFP.
