Everyone Condemns Supreme Court Ruling Against Two Journalists in Panama

(Panama-Guide) - Telemetro - The journalistic unions of Panama called for a general assembly to present their position in reaction to the Supreme Court sentence handed down against two journalists, Justino González and Sabrina Bacal, but above all due to the connotation contained in this decision that the crime of libel was allegedly committed. Guido Rodriguez, president of Forum of Journalists, said that this is "a decision without precedent in political and legal history of the country", something that didn't even happen "in the era of the military dictatorship." Rodriguez added that "to publish information on an ongoing investigation against a public servant can not be considered a slur," referring directly to the case for which Gonzalez and Bacal were sentenced to one year imprisonment. The ruling also prevents them from working as journalists for one year.

He also stressed the fact that this decision coincided with the opinion issued by Attorney General Giuseppe Bonissi, on his push to re-criminalize libel and slander. For the guild of journalists this ruling goes against progress made in Panama on freedom of expression, and can easily provoke the country's inclusion on blacklists on this topic. Likewise, they announced they would request a visit from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to assess the issue. For tomorrow they are also organizing a march to the Supreme Court.

Original Source: Panama-Guide
Date Retrieved: October 7, 2010.