Humberto Espinoza Maguiña, a Peruvian journalist and the former editor of the daily newspaper Prensa Regional, was sentenced twice for defamation, between Sep. 18 and 19, for denouncing alleged acts of government corruption by César Álvarez Aguilar, the regional president of Áncash, a northeastern region to the north of Lima. Maguiña received two years of prison, 120 days of community service and a fine of 5,000 soles (around $2,000), according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The first sentence of Judge Gisela Zuñiga was based on Álvarez's criticism of an article Espinoza published in Aug. 2012 in a daily newspaper, where he accuses Álvarez of corruption.
The next day, Espinoza received a second defamation sentence for another article, published that same year, where he accuses the regional president of closing down and confiscating assets from the radio station, Radio Áncash, for political reasons. The details of this sentence are still not known.
Espinoza told the Press and Society Institute (IPYS) that these judicial sentences are in retaliation for his reporting against the administration of César Álvarez. At the same time, he said that he and his family have received constant death threats for denouncing the corruption of the regional government.
The journalist and his lawyer appealed both judicial sentences, demanding their total nullity due to the irregularity of the process, according to IFEX.
For several years, the IPYS has reported in its alerts of a series of attacks against the press on the part of César Álvarez. These attacks, both direct and indirect, have happened through the justice system and by other officials of Álvarez's administration and his own personal bodyguards.
According to a recent alert, Humberto Espinoza is the fourth journalist from Áncash that has been sentenced for defaming Álvarez.
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.
