16 Mar 2012 | Leveson Inquiry
England’s libel laws have turned the country into “liberty’s enemy”, Observer columnist and author of You Can’t Read This Book Nick Cohen said at last night’s launch of Index and English PEN’s final report of the Alternative Libel Project.
“We virtually invented freedom of expression, but any scoundrel can go to the High Court,” Cohen said.
He was among a host of libel reform campaigners speaking at yesterday’s event at London’s Inner Temple, reflecting on the strides made in the campaign and reaffirming the need for change in England’s defamation law.
The Alternative Libel Project, the result of a year-long inquiry looking into alternatives to resolving libel claims through the High Court, has recommended the use of quicker and cheaper methods to tackle the chilling costs of bringing a claim forward. The report advocates capping the cost of a libel claim at the average UK house price and allowing judges to protect ordinary people from having to pay the other side’s costs if they lose.
Cohen gave an impassioned defence of press freedom, noting that the proliferation of online publishing meant libel reform was no longer only an issue facing reporters. “Everyone is a journalist,” he said.
He praised the campaign’s efforts but urged supporters to look at the “cold climate into which this legislation is emerging”, comparing asking to do the press a favour to asking for a pay rise for MPs after the expenses scandal.
Science writer Simon Singh argued that issues of libel reform were not “old problems”, revealing that, in addition to battling a libel claim brought against him by the British Chiropractic Association, in 2010 he also received another threat over remarks he had made about climate change. The fear of libel, Singh said, was “widespread”.
Opening the event, Justice Minister Lord McNally echoed his statement made at yesterday’s Westminster Legal Policy Forum, saying that he would be “extremely disappointed” if a commitment to legislate of defamation was not part of the Queen’s Speech in May.
“This is not the end, not even the beginning of the end, but perhaps it is the end of the beginning,” he said.
Alternative Libel Project Final March 2012
9 Mar 2012 | Azerbaijan News, Index Index, minipost
An award-winning journalist in Azerbaijan has been threatened with blackmail. Khadija Ismayilova received photographs of an intimate nature with a threatening note saying unless she stops “behaving improperly”, she will be “defamed.” Ismayilova, who has caused public scandal by writing investigative articles exposing corruption among high-ranking Azerbaijani officials and their families, said on Facebook that the threat was not a surprise to her. The journalist has been targeted by pro-government forces in previous incidents.
28 Feb 2012 | Americas
When Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa issued Monday a presidential pardon and forgave a multi-million dollar fine and prison terms for a former editorial writer and three owners of the Ecuadorean daily, El Universo, the impact of the case on press freedom was already irreversible. The accusations left an indelible mark on anyone’s desire to challenge President Correa on his presidential duties.
The presidential pardon also benefitted two book authors who had been accused by Correa in a civil libel case that sought $1 million dollars in damages, charging the writers with defamation for an investigation on alleged suspicions that President Correa’s brother engaged in corrupt practices linked to government-issued contracts. Both the book authors, Juan Carlos Calderón and Christian Zurita, and El Universo publishers and editor, were dragged through the Ecuadorian legal system for months, facing a formidable government campaign.
Correa’s announcement came as Ecuador had to show up at a special hearing before the Organization of American States legal body, The Inter American Human Rights Court. In early February the Court issued a request asking Correa to stop the sentence against the daily and the other journalists.
El Universo replied that it had to review the presidential pardon to respond accordingly. The presidential pardon only erased the sentences from the record but not the legal edict issued by the National Justice Court, which remains on the books as a legal precedent. This factor, according to several international press freedom organisations, could lead to future actions against the press.
As it is often the case in causes célèbres, public opinion forgot the content of the editorial that unleashed the Ecuadorean President’s unhappiness. In it, the editorial director, Emilio Palacio, wrote that Correa´s decision to have government forces fire against a civilian hospital during a police uprising in 2010 could lead to future accusations of crimes of less humanity.
El Universo is an 89-year-old daily that was known for its centrist positions. Its long-time publisher died in 2002 and three of his sons, Oscar, Nicolas and Cesar Perez took over the leadership of the daily. Emilio Palacios, who worked at the daily remained in charge of the editorial page. Emilio Palacio is the brother of former Ecuadoran President Alfredo Palacio, who was in office from 2005 to 2007. Correa was Alfredo Palacio´s Minister of Finance, but he resigned after a year, because of disagreements over the economic policies of Palacios.
21 Feb 2012 | Americas, Index Index, minipost
Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli offered asylum to Ecuadoran publisher Carlos Pérez Barriga, one of the owners of the El Universo newspaper. Last week Pérez was sentenced to three years in prison and 26m GBP in fines for defaming Ecuadoran president Rafael Correa. Emilio Palacio, the journalist who penned the editorial that provoked Correa’s libel complaint, has sought asylum in the US. Pérez’s brothers — who are co-owners — are also currently in the United States and reportedly fear returning to Ecuador.
