An $80,000 fine levied against an Ecuadorean magazine accused of spreading political propaganda constitutes a direct attack on freedom of expression, the International Press Institute (IPI) said today. Ecuador’s Electoral Arbitration Tribunal (TCE, according to its Spanish acronym) ruled last week that a May 4, 2011 editorial published by Vistazo magazine urging voters to reject […]

One step forward, two big steps backward in the fight against criminal defamation in Latin America: while a judge in Paraguay acquitted a journalist on defamation charges on Friday, reporters in the Dominican Republic and Cuba continued to face prison terms for libel. In Asunción, ABC Color columnist Alberto Candia had been the target of […]

Turkish President Abdullah Gül spoke out against censorship yesterday, but Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan defended barring some media outlets from covering their Justice and Development Party (AKP)’s convention in Ankara last Sunday. Gül said in remarks opening the legislative year at Turkey’s parliament: “When writers, thinkers and intellectuals share their opinions without fear, such […]

The International Press Institute (IPI) and its affiliate, the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), today condemned reported instances of censorship by Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) related to the party’s Congress yesterday in Ankara. Hürriyet reported that the party barred dissident newspapers and television channels from covering the event, including daily newspapers […]