The Bolivian Constitutional Court ruled that insult crimes against public officials are unconstitutional, violating citizens' right to freedom of expression, reported the website Prensa Libre. While the decision was dated Sept. 20, the announcement was not made until Tuesday, Oct. 23, by Court president Ruddy Flores, according to the website.
Fundamedios, a press organization, accused the Ecuadorian government of waging a smear campaign against it and private media in the Andean country, according to a statement on its website.
Several Caribbean nations have pledged to reform their criminal defamation laws but must continue to work to fully repeal them, according to a new report published by the International Press Institute (IPI).
A Honduran journalist went into hiding for three days after an arrest warrant was issued against her, reported the Committee for Freedom of Expression (C-Libre).
Panamanian press organizations joined the Inter American Press Association in decrying a sentence upheld against two journalists and a newspaper, calling it an attack on freedom of expression, according to the news agency EFE and the newspaper La Estrella.
The Press Union of Rosario (SPR in Spanish) defended its proposal to add the standard of "actual malice" to the Argentine civil code on Sept. 4, reported the organization's website.
A journalist based in the United States has rejected claims by Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe that he was defamed by the reporter for Haiti-Observateur, said Associated Press (AP) on Thursday, Sept. 13.
On Thursday, Aug. 30, the Ecuadorian magazine Vanguardia sued President Rafael Correa for $2 million in moral damages, along with the court costs and lawyer's fees, reported Europa Press and the newspaper El Comercio.
The Ecuadorian journalist who had been sentenced to three years in prison and fined millions of dollars for allegedly defaming Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has been granted asylum by the United States, according to the Guardian.
On Monday, Aug. 27, the criminal division of the Colombian Supreme Court reversed its decision to sue journalist Cecilia Orozco Tascón for libel and slander, reported the Foundation for Press Freedom. The Court charged Orozco on Aug. 23, after she published an opinion column in the newspaper El Espectador questioning the criminal division's decisions.
On Thursday, Aug. 23, the Colombian Supreme Court announced a libel lawsuit against a journalist, and criticized commentaries published by another journalist, reported the newspaper El Tiempo and the magazine Semana. The court was upset over the columns that questioned and criticized some of the court's decisions.
The Bolivian government said that it would sue the Fides News Agency (ANF in Spanish) for alleged defamation against Bolivian President Evo Morales, although the case is still being analyzed by a legal team, reported the newspaper Los Tiempos.