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P
e r u 7. CRIMINAL LIBEL, CIVIL DEFAMATION:
SLANDER AND LIBEL The Penal Code, under the title of Crimes against Honor, legislates
on the crimes of slander, libel and defamation in the following
articles: Article 130 (Slander): ?Anyone who offends or insults a person
with words, gestures or actions shall be sentenced to community
service of ten (10) to forty (40) work days or to sixty (60) to
ninety (90) fine/days.? Article 131 (Libel): ?Anyone who falsely attributes a crime
to another person shall be subject to a penalty of ninety (90) to
one hundred twenty (120) fine/days.? Article 132 (Defamation): ?Anyone who, in front of several
other persons together or separately, but in such a way that the
news can be spread, attributes to a person a fact, quality or form
of behavior that can damage his honor or reputation, shall be sentenced
to incarceration of no more than two (2) years and a fine of thirty
(30) to one hundred twenty (120) fine/days.? ?If the defamation refers to the offense provided for in Article
131, the penalty shall be incarceration of no less than one (1)
year and no more than two (2) years and a fine of ninety (90) to
one hundred twenty (120) fine/days. ?If the offense is committed by means of a book, the press
or any other communication medium, the penalty shall be incarceration
of no less than one (1) year and no more than three (3) years and
a fine of one hundred twenty (120) to three hundred seventy five
(375) fine/days.? Article 133 (Causes for Impunity): ?Slander or defamation is
not committed in the case of: 1. Offenses proffered
in the spirit of the defense by litigators, legal representatives
or attorneys in oral or written interventions before a judge. 2. Literary, artistic
or scientific critiques. 3. Commentaries or information
that contain unfavorable opinions about a public official in the
performance of his obligations.? Article 134 (Exception of truth): ?The author of the offense
established in Article 132 may prove the veracity of his imputations,
only in the following cases: 1. When the offended
person is a public official and the facts, qualities or conduct
attributed to him refer to the exercise of his functions. 2. When there is still
an open criminal proceeding for the imputed facts against the offended
person. 3. When it is evident
that the author of the offense has acted in the public interest
or in his own defense. 4. When the accuser makes
a formal request for the process to continue until the veracity
or falsehood of the imputed facts, qualities or conduct has been
established.? Article 135: ?Evidence shall not be admitted: 1. When the accusation
of any punishable fact has received definite acquittal in Peru or
abroad. 2. When any accusation
involves personal or family privacy or the violation of sexual freedom
which require private action.? Article 136: ?The person accused of concealed or ambiguous
defamation or slander who refuses to give a satisfactory explanation
during a trial shall be judged for manifest defamation or slander.? Article 137: ?In the case of reciprocal insults proffered in
the heat of a discussion, the judge may, in accordance with the
circumstances, exempt from penalty one or both parties. ?Verbal slander is not punishable when provoked by personal
offenses.? Another crime related to the publication of information is
the one regulated by Article 249 of the Penal Code which punishes
anyone who creates alarm by the dissemination of false news that
may cause a run on financial institutions. The Code of Criminal Procedure foresees a prompt hearing in
the crimes of libel, slander and defamation using the media, to
take place within eight (8) days and reaching a final verdict within
five (5) days (Article 314). Finally, there is a forcible ban from
using the media to make reference to the legal proceeding in which
the person is involved. For the violation of this ban, the accused
shall be deemed a repeat offender and the judge shall proceed to
accumulate to the hearing another commission of the crime against
honor (Article 317).
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