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Legal Cases

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Former Peruvian presidential candidate sues journalist for US $26 million

"[In Peru], former presidential candidate and leader of the Alliance for Progress (APP, for its acronym in Spanish), César Acuña, sued the journalist and author of the book 'Plata como cancha,' Christopher Acosta, for alleged defamation. Likewise, he demanded the payment of civil compensation of 100,000,000 soles (about US $26 million) for allegedly having 'damaged […]

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Criminal complaints filed against journalists in Guatemala after publication on public interest case

“Journalists Marvin del Cid and Sonny Figueroa were denounced on May 21 by María Luisa Morales Gatica de Martínez and Claudia Ivonne Martinez Morales de Girón because of a journalistic investigation into the luxury properties that relatives of the former director of the Center of Government, Luis Miguel Martínez Morales, occupied during his tenure and […]

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Paraguayan prosecutor files complaint against suspected killer of journalist Leo Veras

“One year and two months after the murder of Brazilian journalist Léo Veras, a new complaint was lodged by the public prosecutor's office of Paraguay. Prosecutor Alicia Sapriza, from the Center for the Fight against Organized Crime, accused Waldemar Pereira Rivas, known as “Cachorrão,” of criminal association and intentional homicide, and asked for a trial. […]

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Press freedom organizations present report on judicial harassment of journalists in Colombia and Mexico

“On World Press Freedom Day (May 3), FLIP and ARTICLE 19 Mexico come together to stop judicial harassment against journalists and human rights defenders. Within the framework of this date, FLIP and ARTICLE 19 Mexico, with the support of Justice for Journalists, present the report Laws of Silence, judicial harassment of freedom of expression in […]

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Co-director of investigative site InSight Crime faces criminal defamation suit from Colombian businessman

Jeremy McDermott, co-director of the investigative journalism outlet InSight Crime, faces a criminal defamation suit from Colombian businessman Guillermo León Acevedo Giraldo, alias “Memo Fantasma." "The case stems from a two-year investigation published in March 2020 into Acevedo. It showed how the Madrid-based businessman was once a prolific drug trafficker as well as a former leader […]

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Argentine journalist Daniel Santoro charged in case for alleged extortion attempt

"Federal judge Luis Rodríguez charged journalist Daniel Santoro for an alleged attempt to extort businessman Daniel Traficante. The magistrate's decision included an embargo of 850,000 pesos (about US $9,100) without preventive detention, according to the ruling. Rodríguez considered that Santoro was a 'necessary participant' in the maneuver in which -according to the complaint- Traficante was […]

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Peruvian presidential candidate files trademark complaint against journalist and Penguin Random House

"On March 11, [César Acuña Peralta], a former mayor, governor, and congressman who is running for president in Peru’s April 11 election, filed a trademark infringement complaint to stop sales of [Christopher] Acosta’s book, Money Like Popcorn: Secrets, Impunity, and the Fortune of César Acuña, according to news reports and Acosta, who spoke to CPJ […]

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Peruvian journalists speak out against judicial criminalization of freedom of information

"More than 70 journalists spoke out against the judicial criminalization of freedom of information that exists in Peru and against the currents that point to the press as the 'enemy of the people. ' Among the repeated attacks against the press in Peru, legal complaints, smears based on false information and conspiracy theories have become […]

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Ecuadoran journalist Juan Sarmiento is free after the prescription of his sentence

“The journalist Juan Sarmiento was released this morning [Feb. 7] by the Judge of the Criminal Judicial Unit of Cantón Tena, Luis Eduardo Mendoza Chávez, after the prescription of a sentence against him. The journalist was sentenced by the Ecuadorian justice to 10 days in prison, to the payment of 25 percent of a Unified […]

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Acquittal of Mexican journalist Carmen Olsen is 'an achievement for freedom of expression'

“Journalist Carmen Olsen was acquitted of the prison sentence against her for the crime of 'outrages against authority,' which is an achievement for freedom of expression and a setback to the use of this type of penalty to criminalize journalism. The journalist was notified of the resolution determined by the Fourth Criminal Chamber in Mexicali, […]

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Minister of Justice will ask to open investigation against journalists for column against Bolsonaro

“Minister André Mendonça (Justice and Public Security) said that he will ask the Federal Police to open an investigation into the conduct of columnist Ruy Castro, of newspaper Folha de S.Paulo. He suggested that President Jair Bolsonaro should kill himself in the text "Trump's exit: kill yourself" (for subscribers), published this Sunday (Jan. 10, 2021). […]

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New sentencing in the murder of Mexican journalist Moisés Sánchez 'makes access to justice impossible'

“On Jan. 6 of this year, Jorge Sánchez – the son of Moisés Sánchez, a journalist who disappeared and was murdered in 2015 – received notification of the reinstatement of criminal proceedings of police officers who were already sentenced in 2018 for the crime of failure to comply in the course of duty and for co-participation […]