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Articles - Panama

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Panama

Video hate campaign discredits journalists who disclosed WikiLeaks info

After reporting on WikiLeaks revelations - embarrassing Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli's government - local journalists have been the target of a campaign to sully their reputations in videos posted anonymously on YouTube and through television ads, report the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Panama

Assembly pulls plug on controversial libel bill

A controversial bill that included up to four years of prison for those who "insult" the president or other elected officials was withdrawn by the president of Panama's National Assembly, reports Reporters Without Borders (RSF). The bill had been roundly criticised by IFEX members.

Panama

Uproar over criminal defamation conviction despite presidential pardon

Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli's pardon last week of two TV journalists sentenced to jail for defaming officials does not solve the underlying problem of Panama still having criminal defamation laws, say the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) and other IFEX members.

Panama

LES CONTRAINTES À L'INFORMATION OUTRAGENT LES GROUPES DE DÉFENSE DE LA LIBRE EXPRESSION

Panama

RESTRICCIONES A INFORMACIÓN ESCANDALIZAN A GRUPOS DE LIBRE EXPRESIÓN

Panama

INFORMATION CONSTRAINTS OUTRAGE FREE EXPRESSION GROUPS

The President's decision to sign into law articles that will seriously undermine the right to information has enraged free expression groups worldwide, including ARTICLE 19 and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Panama

UN PROJET DE LOI MENAÇANT POUR LA LIBRE EXPRESSION SUR LE POINT DE DEVENIR LOI

Panama

PROYECTO DE LEY QUE AMENAZA LIBRE EXPRESIÓN ESTÁ CERCA DE CONVERTIRSE EN LEY

Panama

BILL THREATENING FREE EXPRESSION CLOSER TO BECOMING LAW

Proposals to reform Panama's Criminal Code that seriously threaten freedom of expression and information have received a second reading in the National Assembly, ARTICLE 19 reports.

Panama

PROYECTO DE ENMIENDAS DE DIFAMACIÓN PENAL CAUSA ALARMA

Panama

DES PROPOSITIONS DE MODIFICATIONS AUX LOIS SUR LA DIFFAMATION PÉNALE SOULÈVENT L’INQUIÉTUDE

Panama

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.

Panama

INSTAN A NUEVO GOBIERNO A REFORMAR LEYES DE DIFAMACIÓN

Panama

LE NOUVEAU GOUVERNEMENT EST PRIÉ DE RÉFORMER LES LOIS SUR LA DIFFAMATION

Panama

NEW LEGISLATORS URGED TO REFORM DEFAMATION LAWS

As Panama's new president, Martin Torrijos, takes up office this month, IFEX members are calling on the country's new government to approve constitutional reforms that would decriminalise defamation.

Panama

LE RAPPORTEUR DE L'OEA DÉPOSE UN RAPPORT SUR LE PANAMA

Panama

OAS RAPPORTEUR ISSUES REPORT ON PANAMA

The Organization of American States' Rapporteur on Free Expression, Eduardo Bertoni, has called on the Panamanian government to immediately repeal all "desacato" or insult laws, saying, "It is wrong to deprive anyone of his/her liberty to express views about public officials."

Panama

PERIODISTA ABSUELTO DE DIFAMACIÓN

Panama

UN JOURNALISTE EST ACQUITTÉ D?UNE ACCUSATION DE DIFFAMATION

Panama

JOURNALIST ACQUITTED OF SLANDER

Miguel Antonio Bernal, one of Panama's leading journalists, has been acquitted in a criminal defamation case that has once again focused attention on what the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) calls the country's notoriously restrictive press laws. On 29 May Judge Lorena Hernandez threw out slander charges filed against Bernal by former Police Director José Luis Sosa, a decision the Attorney General immediately announced it would appeal. Luis Sosa filed the charges in 1998 after Bernal stated in a television interview that the National Police should be held responsible for the death of four inmates at the Isla de Coiba prison, says CPJ. If convicted, Bernal could face two years in prison.

Panama

CIDH ESCUCHA PREOCUPACIONES DE PERIODISTAS

Panama

L?IACHR ÉCOUTE LES DOLÉANCES DES JOURNALISTES

Panama

IACHR HEARS JOURNALISTS' CONCERNS

Threats against journalists in Panama - where close to 50 per cent of working reporters face defamation charges, fines and jail sentences - gained attention last week at a hearing convened by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in Washington, D.C. Three journalists, supported by the Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Against Corruption (Periodistas Frente a la Corrupcion, PFC) and the Center for Justice and International Law (Centro por la Justicia y el Derecho Internacional, CEJIL),

Panama

SIP SALUDA NUEVA LEY DE ACCESO A LA INFORMACIÓN

Panama

LA SIP SALUE LA NOUVELLE LOI SUR L'ACCÈS À L'INFORMATION

Panama

IAPA WELCOMES NEW ACCESS TO INFORMATION LAW

Panama has enacted a new law giving citizens free access to public records and penalizing government officials if they fail to comply with requests, reports the Inter American Press Association (IAPA). Enacted on 22 January, the law states that "every individual or juridical person has the right to request information from government bodies." It also stipulates that if a government official does not provide such information within 30 days, they will be subject to a fine or dismissal.

Panama

UNE PEINE DE SEIZE MOIS DE PRISON INFLIGÉE À UN JOURNALISTE

Panama

SENTENCIA DE CÁRCEL DE DIECISÉIS MESES EN ÚLTIMA ACCIÓN CONTRA PERIODISTAS

Panama

16-MONTH JAIL SENTENCE IN LATEST ACTION AGAINST JOURNALISTS

In the latest of many recent legal actions against Panamanian journalists, Marcelino Rodríguez was sentenced on 23 May to sixteen months in prison for "slander and damages," exchangeable for a fine of US$1,000, according to Reporters sans frontières (RSF). The legal action against Rodríguez, formerly with the daily "El Siglo", was initiated by Alma Montenegro de Fletcher, attorney for the state, says RSF. In August 1998, the journalist incorrectly reported that Montenegro owned a property in the Panama Canal region, previously under American control. The journalist published a clarification, explaining that the authorities who oversee the region had refused to confirm or deny the information. Montenegro felt that her honour had come under attack because of these reports, says RSF.

Panama

LEYES MORDAZA SIGUEN EN VIGOR A PESAR DE PROMESA DE REFORMA

Panama

LES LOIS DE CENSURE DEMEURENT, MALGRÉ LES PROMESSES DE RÉFORME

Panama

GAG LAWS REMAIN DESPITE PROMISE OF REFORM

The Panamanian government has failed to reform its gag laws and is continuing to use these laws against journalists, report the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN). Within in the last two weeks, two local journalists were sentenced to prison for "defaming public officials," says CPJ. The laws contain a wide range of articles concerning defamation and censorship. Under Article 386 of Panama's judicial code, the attorney general is granted with the "summary power to jail anyone who offends him for up to eight days" and those charged under this statute are denied the right to defend themselves.

Panama

LE CONSEIL DES MINISTRES APPROUVE UNE MODIFICATION À LA LOI DE CENSURE

Panama

GABINETE APRUEBA ENMIENDA A LEY MORDAZA

Panama

PARLIAMENT APPROVES AMENDMENT TO GAG LAW

On 28 July, only two days after withdrawing a proposed amendment to the 1978 gag law, the Panamanian Cabinet approved an amendment to the law which the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) criticises as "only slightly different." A 30 July editorial in the Panama City-based daily "La Prensa" calls the new bill "the same injection with a different needle." The government's new proposal is expected to reach the Legislative Assembly early this week. CPJ says, "It is better than the first proposal in some respects, but worse in others."

Panama

USAN LEYES MORDAZA CONTRA PERIODISTAS

Panama

LES LOIS QUI BÂILLONNENT LA PRESSE SERVENT CONTRE LES JOURNALISTES

Panama

GAG LAWS USED AGAINST JOURNALISTS

The government of Panama is using gag laws to limit press freedom and punish journalists, in order to stifle debate prior to the 2 May presidential elections, says the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). In a 4 March letter sent to Panamanian President Ernesto Pérez Balladares, CPJ expressed alarm over the escalating enforcement of the laws, which were enacted during the military dictatorships of the 1970s and 1980s. CPJ called on the President "to eliminate the gag laws, which establish prison terms for defamation, permit prior censorship, grant the government the right to regulate who may practice journalism, and criminalise criticism of the president and other officials." CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper writes, "The fact that such laws are on the books in Panama is of grave concern. Even more alarming is that a democratically elected head of state would use such laws to stifle public debate."