Ecuador Judge Orders Prison, Fine for Owners of El Universo
An Ecuadorean judge sentenced the owners of El Universo, the nation’s biggest newspaper, and a former editor at the publication to three years in prison and a $40 million fine for libel against President Rafael Correa, the government said yesterday.
Nicholas, Cesar and Carlos Perez, whose family owns Guayaquil-based El Universo, and Emilio Palacio, the former editor of the newspaper’s opinion section, must pay Correa $30 million for a February opinion piece written by Palacio, the government said yesterday in a statement in the presidential gazette.
The judge also fined El Universo $10 million for its role in printing the article, the statement said.
The opinion column dealt with an incident at a Quito hospital in September, when security forces opened fire in a rescue attempt to free the president, who was trapped inside by rioting police officers. The lawsuit has drawn criticism from press freedom groups, including Quito-based Fundamedios, concerned Correa is trying to stifle critics.
“This sentence sets a catastrophic precedent against freedom of expression,” Fundamedios said in an e-mailed statement after the sentence was published. The ruling “confuses civil and criminal law, assigns responsibilities to a newspaper for the opinions of a columnist and fixes disproportionate fines in consideration of a public authority’s honor.”
Appeal
Correa’s lawyer, Alembert Vera, called the ruling part of the government’s fight to improve free speech, according to a separate statement also published in the presidential gazette.
“This case has become a symbol of the fight begun by the president of the republic to create true freedom of expression in this country,” Vera said.
On Sept. 30, police demonstrating against wage cuts took Correa hostage to demand changes to a new public service law. A subsequent gunfight between the police and security forces loyal to Correa, as well as related violence across the country, left eight people dead and at least 274 injured.
Palacio said in a statement on his Twitter account he plans to appeal the sentence. Vera said Correa hasn’t decided if he will appeal the sentence to seek more money from the defendants, according to the statement. Correa had sought $80 million in damges.
Nicholas Perez confirmed the sentence and amount of the fine in a statement on his Twitter account and criticized the ruling for applying a prison sentence in a libel suit.
“The prison and fine are impressive,” he said. “Disastrous precedent.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Nathan Gill in Quito at ngill4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Papadopoulos at Papadopoulos@bloomberg.net
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