According to Perfil, the legal offensive by the government against the country’s most prolific dailies has taken a new step, as it prepares to open criminal charges against the owner and director of Clárin Group, Ernestina Herrera de Noble and Héctor Magnetto, respectively, and the director of La Nación, Bartolomé Mitre. They are accused of being direct accomplices in crimes against humanity during the Argentine dictatorship (1976-1983).
The legal debate on the line between protecting the privacy of youth and supporting free expression was temporarily decided on the side of the former, when the Chamber for Minors in the capital city of San Salvador upheld the ruling against José Roberto Dutriz, the president of La Prensa Gráfica, for publishing the name and photos of a minor that was charged in the public killing of another youth in March, El Mundo and ElSalvador.com report.
The National Newspaper Association (ANJ), the Brazilian Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters, and the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) condemned statements by President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva that he will “ defeat the papers and magazines that behave as if they were political parties,” O Globo reports.
Just days before the Venezuelan parliamentary elections, representatives from the opposition Democratic Unity Coalition filed a complaint with the National Electoral Board (CNE) alleging that President Hugo Chavez was abusing the media by using them to campaign for candidates supportive of Chavez's party, reported El Universal.
After media and journalism groups strongly criticized the anti-racism bill that passed the Chamber of Deputies last week, the Senate has invited journalists to discuss the issue today (Sept. 16), Los Tiempos reports.
Military police accompanied by a court official confiscated television sets, cameras, furniture, and even the transmitters of the television channell TV Descalvados, affiliate of the SBT network in the town of Cáceres, in the western state of Mato Grosso, reported Midia News. The seizure, which forced the channel off the air, was court-ordered to pay for "moral damages" inflicted on the city's first lady, Gisele Fontes, according tol Diário de Cuiabá.
Prosecutors in the western city of Mendoza opened a case against Víctor Fayad, the city’s mayor, for serious threats he allegedly made to the news director of MDZ Online via text messages last April, Perfil and Los Andes report.
The police confiscated 850 copies of the weekly newspaper Impacto Campo Grande, based out of the capital of Mato Grosso do Sul, for criticizing the state’s incumbent gubernatorial candidate André Puccinelli (PMDB), Midiamax and the paper’s blog report.
Colombia’s Minster of Interior and Justice, Germán Vargas Lleras, has proposed declasifying secret intelligence agency reports on illegal espionage against politicians, judges, journalists, and human rights activists, EFE reports.
Journalist Marcelo Garay Vergara could be sentenced to up to 200 days in prison for taking unauthorized photos of the Mapuche conflict from inside a farm in Padre Las Casas, in the south of Chile, reported La Nación. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 21.
Seven legislators flew to D.C. to criticize Ecuador’s controversial draft media law in front of several international groups, including the Organization of American States and Freedom House, El Universo and EFE report.
The Bolivian Chamber of Deputies recently passed a controversial law that would criminalize racist or discriminatory acts, BBC Mundo reports. Journalism and media groups have said that the law, which is still waiting Senate approval, “violates freedom of expression,” because it could punish third parties for covering controversial issues.