Colombian journalist Claudia López refused to retract her statements and declared her innocence at her trial for allegedly defaming ex-President Ernesto Samper, El País and Caracol Radio report.
A controversial bill that included up to four years of prison for those who “insult” the president or other elected officials was withdrawn by the president of Panama’s National Assembly, José Muñoz, EFE and Terra report.
Two of Panama's government-allied deputies have announced a draft law that would jail those who “offend, insult, or vilify” the president or other government officials, prompting criticism from members of the opposition, journalists, and the Panamanian ombudsman, Telemetro and AFP reports.
The Appellate Court of Carabobo state annulled journalist Francisco “Pancho” Pérez's conviction that had sentenced him to three years and nine months of house arrest and a ban on practicing journalism during his sentence, El Carabobeño reports.
In what is being called a victory for free speech, a Brazilian judge has dismissed defamation and libel charges against U.S. journalist Joe Sharkey, who survived a collision over the Amazon in September 2006 that killed 154 people. Sharkey blamed failures in Brazil's air control system for the collision between the private jet in which he was flying and a commercial airliner. He reported the decision on his blog.
A Peruvian court has sentenced journalist José Alejandro Godoy, the head of the blog Desde el Tercer Piso (From the Third Floor), to three years in prison, a fine of $107,000, and 120 days of social work for “aggravated defamation” against former minister and congressman Jorge Mufarech, El Comercio reports.
Panamanian journalists have joined forces to demand more respect for freedom of expression and to express objections over legal setbacks in the area, reported La Prensa.
Confronted with the outcry from journalists and the media over the unprecedented banning of two journalists condemned of defamation from working for one year, the president of Panama, Ricardo Martinelli, said he is committed to freedom of expression and promised to pardon both journalists, reported EFE and Crítica.
A federal appeals court has overturned the acquittal of Sabrina Bacal and Justino González in separate suits for libel and injury. They were both sentenced to 12 months in prison and banned from practicing journalism for a year Hora Cero reports.
In what has been characterized as a “blow to the media,” the Supreme Court of Justice of El Salvador declared unconstitutional a section of the penal code that exempted media, reporters, editors and owners from legal responsibility for defamation. According to the ruling, the law violated the principle of equality, reported El Mundo and El Faro.
After being arrested and threatened for reporting on a pedophile ring, Mexican journalist Lydia Cacho has been named the recipient of the PEN International Writer of Courage Prize, according to the Associated Press (AP). She will be honored at an awards presentation in London on Oct. 20.
The Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) warned that the sentencing of Peruvian journalist Fernando Santos Rojas to one year in jail for aggravated defamation severely limits freedom of expression.