by Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
QUITO, Ecuador – Ecuador’s National Court of Justice, the highest court in the nation, has upheld a ruling in a libel case that restricts the freedom of the press. On Wednesday, the court sentenced three people from the newspaper El Universo to pay a fine of $40 million to Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa.
Emilio Palacio, an editor and the writer of the article in question, was fined $30 million. The owners of the newspaper, Cesar Perez and Nicolas Perez, were fined $10 million. All three of the men were additionally sentenced to three years imprisonment.
Correa instigated a libel suit against the newspaper El Universo in March of 2011 for an article they printed about him. In the article, it was insinuated that the Correa had authorized soldiers to shoot on a hospital with innocent civilians inside.
The article was printed following a police strike in September of 2011. The police were revolting against a new austerity law that reduced their bonus pay and Correa pushed into the crowd to personally address some of the officers leading the rebellion.
Media reports from the time state that Correa confronted them by opening his shirt and stating, “If you want to kill the president, here he is. Kill him, if you want to. Kill him, if you are brave enough.” After this, as Correa’s guards escorted him from the area, he was attacked with tear gas and shoved by the protestors.
Correa was taken to a nearby hospital from which he declared a state of emergency. Rebellious police protestors surrounded the hospital and Correa was trapped inside of it for the next 12 hours. He was eventually rescued by the military in an operation that left two dead and dozens injured from gunshots.
The article, printed by El Universo, and written by Palacio, called Correa a dictator and referenced the strike as an attempted coup. It also stated that the President had ordered the military to fire on the hospital regardless of the innocent civilians that would be injured by such a move. The article stated:
“In the future, a new president, maybe an enemy of yours, may bring you to a criminal court for ordering to open fire at discretion and without warning against a hospital full of civilians and innocent people. Do not forget, there is no statute of limitation for crimes against humanity.”
The libel suit was brought as a criminal and not a civil charge. The trial court found the article to be libelous and imposed the three year imprisonment and $40 million fine from which El Universo appealed. The decision handed down yesterday to uphold the sentence was final. Ecuador’s highest court termed any appeal from their decision as “out of order.”
Amnesty International’s Deputy America’s Director, Guadalupe Marengo, says that this case has raised a number of concerns, “this harsh sentence is an attack on the right to free speech for everyone in Ecuador, and will discourage journalists from engaging in legitimate criticism of the government.”
“Libel cases should be dealt with in civil trials and should not involve jail terms. Peaceful criticism of government policies must never be the subject of criminal proceedings, as regional and international human rights bodies have unequivocally stated.”
El Universo and Palacio have made it clear that they will not accept this ruling as they claim they were restricted from making a proper defense and the judge’s selection was manipulated by Correa.
“Of course this sets a precedent: For the first time in the history of Latin America, and I suppose, the world, a president wins $40 million for his pocket by manipulating justice, naming the judges he desired, and using his influence,” was Palacio’s statement.
The defense will now take the case to an international level, going first to the Interamerican Human Rights Commission and then the Interamerican Human Rights Court. In the current political climate of Ecuador this is likely the best option, especially with the recent rising concerns over the increased restrictions of the press.
As reported by Aljazeera, shortly after his election in 2007, Correa re-wrote Ecuador’s constitution to lengthen the presidential term and to allow greater government control of the media. This allowed for the government to take command of a variety of media outlets including TV stations and radio stations. Fundamedios, an Ecuadorian free media advocacy group, estimates that there have so far been 400 violations of freedom of the press during Correa’s presidency.
Prior to the court’s announcement, Correa made it clear that he viewed the case as one in which the “corrupt private press” was going to be held accountable for their actions. Following the decision he announced that, “the truth has shined…We have set a precedent. This sentence and this process are historic. They demonstrate that nobody has the right to tarnish the truth.”
For more information, please see;
BBC – Ecuador Court Uphold $40M Rafael Correa Victory – 16 February 2012
Chicago Tribune – Ecuador Top Court Upholds Libel Ruling Against Newspaper – 16 February 2012
CNN – Ecuador High Court Upholds $40 Million Libel Suit – 16 February 2012
France 24 – Libel Case Brings “Ridicule” on Ecuador Says Lawyer – 16 Febraury 2012
The West Australian – Ecuador Leader Wins Libel Suit Against Newspaper – 16 February 2012
Aljazeera – President v. the Media in Ecuador – 1 December 2012
Refworld- Ecuador Court Sentences Journalists to Prison in Presidential Libel Case – 22 July 2011
The Suffolk Journal – Police Uprising in Ecuador Causes Chaos – 20 October 2011
