"On Monday morning [March 6], the Criminal Court of the Second Judicial Circuit of San José convicted journalist Marlon Mora Jiménez of two counts of defamation against former presidential candidate and criminal lawyer Juan Diego Castro Fernández.
According to the [radio] news show 'Interferencia,' the ruling imposed a fine of CRC 600,000 [about US $1,000] and a civil penalty of CRC 15 million [about US $27,000] for moral damages. The ruling deepens the dangers facing freedom of expression and of the press, according to Mora Jiménez, who was president of the Costa Rican College of Journalists (Colper, by its Spanish acronym) between 2014 and 2016. The journalist was also ordered to publish the full 6 of March sentence in a national newspaper.
'I can tell you I'm very concerned because if I pursued this process with courage, it was because I am sure that freedom of expression and press in this country are in danger. Perhaps we are living through one of the most difficult times in the last 20 or 30 years. And the only thing I can do is to trust in time, that I, out of all these difficulties, can be given the justice I need,' the journalist told CRHoy.com after learning of the ruling."
