Ecuador - Court confirms El Universo sentence, setting grave legal precedent

Reporters without borders

A Guayaquil appeal court yesterday upheld the three-year jail sentence and 40-million-dollar fine that a lower court imposed on three El Universo executives and one of the newspaper's former columnists two months ago in a criminal libel case brought by President Rafael Correa. With little chance of winning any further appeal, El Universo, a Guayaquil-based daily, is now facing financial ruin and closure. President Correa, who finally abandoned his attempt to have the fine doubled, has said (...)

© Reporters sans frontières - mercredi 21 septembre 2011