An Ecuadorian judge's decision to sentence Hoy newspaper director Jaime Mantilla Anderson to three months in prison for libel drew condemnation from the Inter American Commission of Human Rights' Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, the Inter American Press Association and the Committee to Protect Journalists, reported the news agency EFE.
The Ecuadorian blogger who coined the tag "30S" or "30-S" to follow tweets about the police protest on Sept. 30, 2010, came out against the government's attempt to trademark 30S, reported the newspapers El País and El Universo.
Warning of a "progressive loss of fundamental rights" in Ecuador, the Coordinating Committee of Press Freedom Organizations, during its half-yearly meeting Dec. 9 in Miami, issued a series of resolutions calling on the administration of President Rafael Correa to respect free speech and press freedom.
A court in Ecuador has ratified a six-month prison sentence against a radio broadcaster accused of defaming a doctor two years ago, according to IFEX.
Human Rights Watch asked the Ecuadorian government to repeal all insult and defamation laws against public officials, the New York-based human rights organization announced.
The director of an organization that defends freedom of expression in Ecuador received death threats on Nov. 11, according to a report from the EFE news agency.
With Ecuadoran president Rafael Correa increasingly critical of the media, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) in October issued a "freedom resolution" calling on the government to "reverse recent trends that seriously undermine a free and independent press in Ecuador, by repealing criminal defamation, putting a stop to all forms of harassment against journalists and guaranteeing the full independence of the media in the country."
The Human Rights Foundation sent a letter to the judges of the Second Criminal Chamber of Ecuador’s National Court of Justice asking them to accept an appeal of the libel sentence against journalist Emilio Palacio and the owners of the El Universo newspaper, reported the same organization. The accused face three years in prison and $40 million in damages.
On Tuesday, Oct. 25, a group of journalists and organizations defending human rights appeared at a hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), in Washington D.C., to present the problems that are affecting freedom of expression in Ecuador.
A columnist in Ecuador claimed censorship when his newspaper decided not to publish one of his pieces, saying they wanted to "avoid legal trouble," according to the organization Fundamedios.