28 Sep 11 | Index Index, minipost
Two Peruvian journalists accused of defamation were last week sentenced to two years in prison, although on suspended sentences which involve house arrest and paying a civil fine of $11,000 USD. Fritz Du Bois, editor of the newspaper Perú 21, and Gessler Ojeda, Perú 21 correspondent in the city of Arequipa, were reportedly taken to court for publishing stories about supposed links between the family of legislator Ana María Solórzano and prostitution businesses in the southern city.
12 Sep 11 | Index Index, minipost
Television journalist Pedro Alfonso Flores Silva died in hospital yesterday from gunshot wounds sustained in an attack on Tuesday. While riding home on his motorcycle, Flores Silva, 36, was intercepted by a taxi and shot in the abdomen by a hooded assailant. Flores Silva ran and hosted a news programme, “Visión Agraria”, during which he had made accusations of corruption against Marco Rivero Huertas, mayor of the Comandante Noel district. The journalist’s wife told reporters that her husband had received anonymous death threats for several months prior to his murder, which she believed stemmed from the accusations made in his programme.
08 Aug 11 | Index Index, minipost
Peruvian journalist César Gonzáles has been sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay damages for the crime of “general misrepresentation of the State”. The case against Gonzáles, who directs and hosts a current affairs programme 60 Minute News on television channel UTV Canal 19 in the eastern city of Pucallpa, was initiated after he denounced corruption in the local government before the Oversight Committee of Congress. The journalist, who said he would appeal, deemed the sentence “political and judicial persecution”.
04 Nov 10 | Uncategorized
On 29 October, journalist José Alejandro Godoy, became the first blogger in Peru to be convicted on defamation charges. Judge Flor La Rosa sentenced the author of political blog Desde el Tercer Piso (From the Third Floor) to a three-year suspended prison sentence, a fine of 300,000 soles (£65,000), and 120 days of social work. His crime? Ironically referring to a powerful politician as a “political jewel”.
Jorge Mufarech — a minister during Alberto Fujimori’s government (1990-2000) — initially launched legal action against Godoy in August 2009, after the blogger published an article that included links to criminal allegations levelled against Mufarech by other media sources. The article reported accusations that he had threatened another politician, Julio Arzibu. The controversial links appeared only in the first paragraph of the piece, and Godoy claims were included simply to contextualise the piece.
Godoy allowed Mufarech right of reply, publishing a letter from the former congressman and his own subsequent response, which explained why he thought the links were justified. But despite this, the politician claimed one million dollars in compensation for defamation.
Godoy had merely referred to Mufarech’s public past, so it came as a surprise when Flor La Rosa, in reference to the “political jewel” remarks, condemned the journalist for a “systematic campaign of defamation”. A completely different legal argument to that originally brought by the politician. It is hard to imagine what the ruling would be if Godoy had called Mufarech something really insulting.
It is worth noting that the judge is affiliated to APRA (American Popular Revolutionary Alliance), the political party at the head of the Peruvian government and Desde el Tercer Piso is well-known for its government criticism. Godoy will of course appeal the court’s decision. His lawyer, Roberto Pereira, has said that the lack of legal substantiation and the excessive nature of the sentence constitute a blow against press freedom, unprecedented in the country’s history.
Peru is holding elections in April 2011. This case represents a danger to free expression at a time when it is more important than ever. In the words of José Alejandro Godoy, “everyone, not only me, could be a victim of an absurd ruling like this one.” Mufarech has a history of defamation complaints — Susana Villarán, who is likely to be the next mayor of Lima, is currently under investigation — but this is the first defamation case Mufarech has won. So who will be next, Mr Mufarech?
Angel Garcia Catala works for free expression monitor Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS)
