Press freedom organizations and journalist unions have united to express their concern for the future of press freedom in Ecuador because of the tension between the government and the media, which has intensified in recent months after lawsuits President Rafael Correa has filed against reporters and media owners.
In two separate incidents, journalists in Ecuador say they are being targeted for their critical reporting on the powerful. In the first case, Fundamedios reports via IFEX that a prosecutor in the coastal city of Manta is suing five directors and journalists who work for the Ediasa media group for libel over an article reporting allegations that he accepted a bribe.
A week after being arrested for allegedly slandering Attorney General Washington Pesántez in a blog post, Víctor Vizcaíno Luzuriaga was freed pending trial by a judge, El Diario and Radio Sucre report.
The votes still are being counted, but Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa has claimed victory in a nationwide vote on 10 issues ranging from a bullfighting ban to the creation of a panel to regulate media content, CNN reports. Both the government and the opposition have suggested that there were irregularities during in the Saturday, May 7, vote, local media outlets report.
Journalist Walter Vite, who was convicted April 27 to a year in prison and a $500 fine for allegedly libeling a mayor, has initiated a hunger strike to demand his release, the Associated Press and Ecuadorinmediato report.
With less than a week left before a popular vote on judicial reforms and press regulation, President Rafael Correa continued to rail against the media, saying they “deceive, lie,” and are the biggest opposition to the referendum, AFP reports.
Ecuador’s government backtracked on its decision to not renew El Universo newspaper’s presidential press credentials, El Comercio reports. This is in spite of an ongoing conflict between the daily and President Rafael Correa, who initiated an $80 million defamation suit against it in March.
In a new punch thrown in the fight between Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa and the opposition media, the government announced that it had suspended El Universo newspaper’s presidential press credential for its alleged “failure to comply with constitutional provisions,” El Nacional reports.
Last week the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) released a report criticizing the use of libel laws in Ecuador to silence critical speech, prompting Ecuador to reject the report, saying the commission was acting outside of its jurisdiction, Terra reports.
The United States Department of State’s 2010 Human Rights Report says the relationship between the press and the government of Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa “continued to deteriorate” last year, EFE reports.
Nine journalists from around the world, including two who work in Latin America, have been named 2011-2012 International Knight Fellows, the Knight fellowship program announced. The U.S. fellows will be announced May 2.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Fundamedios, and Reporters without Borders (RSF) spoke out against the government shutdown of La Voz de la Selva Esmeralda Oriental community radio station in the southeastern Ecuadoran city of Macas, Radio Tierra reports.