Miami (March 10, 2003) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) expressed
its alarm and concern over the sentencing of an Uruguayan journalist to seven
months in jail for defamation and libel, a ruling it views as a “clear setback
for freedom of the press” in Uruguay and a “double sentence”
against journalism.
Journalist Oscar Ubiría was sentenced to a suspended sentence of seven
months in prison after criticizing on his radio program the management of funds
raised during a fashion show in the city of Dolores in the eastern department
of Soriano, that were to be used for supporting the charitable organization,
“Dolores Solidario.” Ubiría said in his program, “To
Begin to Believe”, on CW 158 San Salvador Radio, that the event last November
was a scam since “Dolores Solidario” only received a small percentage
of the money raised by private organizers who had tricked the public by holding
an event as if it were truly for charitable purposes.
The journalist’s comments, made after having received various calls on
the air in which several listeners questioned the distribution of funds raised,
created a public outcry which led to him being accused of defamation by two
of the organizers. Later, Judge Mariana Mota sentenced the journalist to seven
months in jail after which he would have to read on two occasions on the air
a statement by the plaintiffs. Two months prior, the journalist had charged
the plaintiffs of attacking and threatening him, accusations that were dismissed
by District Attorney Pablo Rivas Vignolo who was the same prosecutor who tried
him and requested a prison sentence in this case.
Chairman of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information, Rafael Molina,
said that the Uruguayan justice system’s attitude on this case is a tragic
precedent against freedom of the press viewing the Uribía case as a “double
sentence.” Molina referred to not only the actual sentence of a suspended
seven months jail term, but also called a “sentence” the fact that
it was the same prosecutor who dismissed accusations the journalist had filed
against the plaintiffs for having attacked and threatened him.
“The jail sentence is a step backwards for press freedom,” said
Molina, explaining that there currently is a movement in case law on an international
level to decriminalize libel and slander, issues that are frequently discussed
at international forums on justice and freedom of the press
Molina indicated that what most concerns the IAPA is the “punch”
that legal attitudes of this kind inflict on the right to public information.
“This is a clear message for journalists that does nothing more than intimidate
them resulting in their silence and in self-censorship,” Molina said,
observing that they did not only sentence the journalist to jail, but forced
him to give a right to reply on two occasions, they attacked and threatened
him, and his accusations against the plaintiffs were dismissed.
“We hope – he said – that these legal actions are revised
and thrown out in other instances, otherwise we would be seeing how the justice
system cuts off freedom of the press, a method that was used effectively in
regimes like that of Fujimori-Montesinos, where there was such a lack of respect
given to the Judicial Branch.”
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