"The full bench of magistrates of the Constitutional Court accepted the Public Ministry's (MP) withdrawal of the appeal presented by the former head of the FECI, Rafael Curruchiche, which sought to reactivate a criminal investigation against journalists and columnists who worked at the defunct newspaper elPeriódico. The decision implies archiving that legal resource within the highest constitutional tribunal.
For that reason, the court avoided analyzing the merits of the matter and only ordered the case file to be archived, upholding what was previously resolved by the Amparo Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) which, with an opinion by Magistrate Judge Estuardo Cardenas, halted the possibility of the MP advancing with a criminal process against the media professionals. The complaint pushed by Curruchiche sought to prosecute them for the crime of obstruction of justice stemming from news publications in their outlet.
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This resolution sets a precedent for future cases because it defines the path through which eventual complaints related to news work could be raised. The criminal path cannot be used directly for publications. With the criminal route or an organized crime charge ruled out, any person who considers their rights violated by a publication must turn to a press tribunal."
Read the full article in Spanish.
Translated with AI assistance and edited by LJR staff.
