28 June 2006
CRIMINAL DEFAMATION AMENDMENTS CAUSE ALARM
The Inter American Press Association (IAPA), Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) are expressing alarm at a bill drafted by Panamanian lawmakers, under which prison terms for defamation would be doubled and penalties drastically increased.
A committee of lawyers and academics commissioned by the government to examine penal code reform presented the draft bill to President Martín Torrijos last week. Under the proposed amendments, anyone convicted of defamation could be imprisoned for up to three years, notes IAPA. Convictions for libel offences would carry jail terms of up to two years. Defamation and libel offences would also be subject to fines that would be considerably stiffer than under existing legislation. If President Torrijos and his cabinet endorse the proposals, it will be put before congress in September.
On 20 June, 300 journalists protested against the draft bill in Panama City, reported PROBIDAD. In response, the government agreed to include six journalists in a new commission that would examine the proposals.
According to an IAPA report, there were 15 pending lawsuits against journalists for libel and slander in Panama as of October 2005.
The Organization of American States' Special Rapporteur on Free Expression has stated that Panama's criminal defamation and insult laws are incompatible with inter-American human rights standards. In a July 2003 report, the Rapporteur urged the government to repeal all "desacato" or insult laws, saying, "It is wrong to deprive anyone of his/her liberty to express views about public officials."
Visit these links:
- IAPA: http://www.sipiapa.com/pressreleases/srchcountrydetail.cfm?PressReleaseID=1605
- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=18093
- CPJ: http://www.cpj.org/news/2006/americas/panama23june06na.html
- OAS Report on Panama: http://www.cidh.org/Relatoria/ShowDocument.asp?DocumentID=33
- World Press Freedom Committee: http://www.wpfc.org/CampaignAgainstInsultLaws.html
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