In what appears to be a measure to silence the Ecuadorian press, President Rafael Correa asked for Ecuadorian citizens to boycott the press, reported the news agency AFP.
Tangled in an everlasting battle against the Ecuadorian press, the Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa attacked and discredited the work of journalists once again during an interview with the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, in the program “The World Tomorrow,” on Tuesday, May 22, reported the news outlet Europa Press.
After the United States criticized the state of freedom of expression in Ecuador, President Rafael Correa fired back, saying it was an “embarrassment” that U.S. President Barack Obama would “defend informants,” according to the news agency AFP.
The U.S. government called on Ecuador to guarantee freedom of expression “and to make sure journalists can work without fear of threats or punishments," reported the news agency EFE. The U.S. government also criticized the case of Ecuadorian journalist Cesar Ricaurte, director of the Ecuadorian NGO Fundamedios, who has received death threats for his criticisms against the government, added EFE.
On Monday April 23, as its mid-year meeting came to a close, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) concluded that the main difficulties confronting the press in the Americas are “crimes against journalists, and arbitrary and intolerant governments.”
A court in Ecuador decided to dismiss a libel case brought by President Rafael Correa against two journalists who wrote the book "Big Brother," which accuses the president of nepotism, reported the newspaper El Comercio on Thursday, April 19.
During the first trimester of this year, a total of 53 attacks on "news media, journalists, and citizens exercising their rights to freedom of expression” were recorded in Ecuador.
After refusing to archive the controversial media regulation bill, the National Assembly of Ecuador decided to postpone the vote on the proposal and decided that it will instead vote article by article.
Despite Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa's pardon, a court decided to move forward with the ruling against two Ecuadoran journalists accused of defamation and reject the presidential pardon.
During an interview in Spain, Ecuadoran president Rafael Correa questioned the funding of the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW), reported the newspaper La Hora. "Do you know who funds Human Rights Watch, is it the Sisters of Charity, the Sinaloa Cartel?" Correa said to the Spanish journalist who was interviewing him.
On Sunday, March 11, the Ecuadorian Association of Newspaper Publishers (AEDEP in Spanish) asked President Rafael Correa to end his campaign against the press and to focus instead on real problems that Ecuador is facing, reported the newspaper El Diario.
In a statement, the human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticized the Ecuadorian government for "flagrantly" distorting information about what was discussed during a meeting between HRW and the National Communication Secretary of Ecuador, Fernando Alvarado, where freedom of expression in the country was debated.