"A French investigative journalist who exposed sexual abuse accusations against Yves Jean-Bart, the former Haiti football federation president, is facing a defamation lawsuit by Jean-Bart, Human Rights Watch said today [March 21, 2023]. The journalist, Romain Molina, documented abuses against underage players in the Haiti Football Federation under Jean-Bart’s leadership and supported survivors in Haiti […]
"Nearly a hundred journalists from various media outlets in Guatemala staged a demonstration on Saturday [March 4] in front of the country's Supreme Court in protest for a judge's decision to investigate nine journalists due to their publications on different allegations. The demonstration was also to protest against the case of another journalist critical of […]
"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] […]
"The Tenth Court of First Criminal Instance [of Guatemala] convicted this Tuesday, Feb. 21, attorney Mario Castañeda, who defended the president of the newspaper elPeriódico, José Rubén Zamora. [...] Judge Jimmi Bremmer issued a three-year commuted prison sentence against the lawyer for the crime of conspiracy to obstruct justice. [...] The head of the Special […]
"The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) denounced the continued abuse of defamation lawsuits against Panamanian media and journalists and the preventive seizure of their assets as mechanisms of intimidation and gagging to curb critical journalism. The IAPA endorsed the recent expressions of its regional vice-presidency in Panama, the National Council of Journalists (CNP, by its […]
"Chilean authorities should not contest journalist Felipe Soto Cortés’ appeal of a recent criminal defamation conviction and should stop using criminal defamation laws against members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday [Jan. 27]. On Jan. 11, a criminal court judge in the southern city of Concepción convicted Soto, editor of the […]
"Begrudgingly tolerated a few years ago, Cuban reporters are now regularly detained, can have their phones and laptops seized, and their internet cut. Independent journalism in Cuba – usually supported by foreign funding – has blossomed since 2018, the year in which the state punctured its monopoly on information by unleashing relatively uncensored mobile internet. […]
"The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) expressed concern over the new improper, illegal, and unconstitutional use of the presses and facilities stolen from the newspaper La Prensa by the Daniel Ortega regime of Nicaragua. The organization warned that the government plans to use the newspaper's presses and facilities to open an official media outlet to […]
"The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) disapproves the conviction of the editor and a journalist of the Paraguayan newspaper ABC Color, considering that it violates Inter-American principles on freedom of the press. The organization warned of the possible chilling effect of the ruling on investigative journalism. ABC Color editor Natalia Zuccolillo and journalist Juan Carlos […]
"Independent journalist and political prisoner Lázaro Yuri Valle Roca was admitted to the Combinado del Este hospital, in Havana, due to his serious health condition. [...] [His wife Eralidis] Frómeta visited him a few days earlier in prison and said the journalist had 'something similar to tumors' in his head, with a secretion discharge. 'We […]