While President Rafael Correa’s March 18 announcement that he was suing a pair of journalists is still the talk of the town, the leader announced another lawsuit – this time against an editorial writer and the directors of El Universo newspaper, Vistazo.com reports.
The legal action would affect the opinion editor of the paper, Emilio Palacio, who was sued for defamation by a high-ranking public official last year.
Correa explained that several of Palacio's editorials were “accusations” and “slander." According to Radioequinoccio.com, El Universo says the president’s suit was announced several hours after the newspaper published an article about an information access request denial.
“We are not only suing the editorial writer, but also the newspaper El Universo’s directors,” said Correa, in a radio interview on Ecuadorinmediato, quoted by El Universo. “This will be a milestone in Ecuadoran history.”
Last week, the president sued journalists Juan Carlos Calderón and Christian Zurita for their book “Big Brother,” which alleges corruption in granting major government contracts to Correa’s older brother, Fabricio.
However, since then, Fabricio Correa has said he is against the suit, El Tiempo reports. Calderón and Zurita themselves have announced plans for a countersuit, Ecuadorinmediato adds.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
