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Alert

"ABC Color" newspaper fined US$200,000

(RSF/IFEX) - RSF denounces the 28 December 2005 determination by the Supreme Court that "ABC Color" newspaper pay a fine of US$200,000 for damages against Senator Juan Carlos Galaverna. The newspaper has been convicted of defaming the politician, a close colleague of President Nicanor Duarte Frutos, who is suspected of corruption.

"To charge an independent media body such an exorbitant fine sets a dangerous precedent for the Paraguayan press. We are talking about a disturbing indication of the impunity enjoyed by some politicians, and of the ambiguity of their relations with the judiciary. We fear that this will result in media self-censorship when it comes to delicate subjects, which would represent a serious set-back to the right to information", RSF declared.

It is not the first time that the newspaper has been charged for publishing articles on corruption, where influential politicians are involved. After remaining closed for five years, the newspaper resumed operation after the fall of the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner in 1989. Since 1998, "ABC Color" has been the target of 16 denunciations for having published articles exposing acts of corruption by members of the political class. The Supreme Court decision signifies the closure of any judicial process on this matter, with no further recourse available. To continue publishing, the newspaper finds itself obliged to take out a large loan that will leave it in difficulty, RSF was informed by a member of the paper's editorial staff.

Alejandro Encina, legal counsel for "ABC Color", has stated that the newspaper will present its case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in protest of the ruling which, he asserts, demonstrates how the judiciary is subject to political influence. Indeed, a journalist with the newspaper informed RSF that some Supreme Court judges have close relations with Senator Juan Carlos Galaverna.

Presently, Paraguay has been classified by Transparency International as one of the most corrupt countries in South America.