The Ecuadoran government announced that it would not comply with the request the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) made to suspend the libel sentences against the owners of the newspaper El Universo, Carlos, César and Nicolás Pérez, and former opinion page editor Emilio Palacio, calling the requested measures “inapplicable,” reported the NGO Fundamedios.
The Ecuadoran Minister, Ricardo Patiño, said that the government considered the IACHR's proposal "a clear violation of our country's institutions. Ecuador has a fully functional judicial system which must be respected,” according to the newspaper El Universo.
Patiño also said that "there is no reason" for the Panamanian government to have granted asylum to the editor of El Universo, Carlos Pérez, explained the news agency Europa Press.
Meanwhile, a group of 20 Ecuadorans were protesting in Miami against Ecuadoran president Rafael Correa, according to the newspaper El Comercio. One of the demonstrators was the brother of Emilio Palacio, Gustavo Palacio, who told the news agency AFP that “we must condemn the totalitarian government in Ecuador which is destroying democracy, rule of law and press freedom," added El Comercio.
