Ecuador court rules against newspaper

World

Ecuador court rules against newspaper

Close

The National Court of Justice (CNJ) sentenced the three top executives of the media company.

16 February,2012 11:40 am

Ecuadors high court on Thursday ruled against the El Universo newspaper in a libel suit filed by President Rafael Correa.The National Court of Justice (CNJ) sentenced the three top executives of the media company to three years in prison and fined them $40 million, denying a lower court appeal filed by El Universo, which it called out of order.Correa sued the El Universo daily in March 2011 alleging defamatory libel over a column by former opinion page editor Emilio Palacio that accused the president of crimes against humanity.Palacio suggested that a future president could take Correa before a criminal court for ordering the military to fire at its discretion on a hospital on September 30, 2010, during a police uprising.A lower court judge ruled against the newspaper in July, handing down the $40 million judgment and prison sentences against the newspapers publisher, Carlos Perez, deputy directors Cesar Perez and Nicolas Perez, and Palacio, who fled to Miami. An appeals court upheld the sentence in September.Correa, speaking at an evening press conference, said that a ruling in his favor would be a great step for the liberation of our America from one of the most powerful unpunished institutions -- the corrupt press.Correa said there was keen interest in the case because all across Latin America they are suffering the same abuse and corruption from a certain type of news media.Palacio has sought political asylum in Miami and is considered a fugitive from Ecuador.