PERU: Newspaper editor jailed for defamation

15 January 2010

RAN 05/10

The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN (WiPC) protests the one-year prison sentence handed down to Nor Oriente editor Alejandro Carrascal Carrasco on 12 January 2010 for alleged "aggravated defamation" of a local official in a case dating back to 2005. There were a number of apparent irregularities in the trial and it is widely believed that Carrascal's conviction is in retaliation for his criticism of the authorities, in violation of his right to freedom of expression. The WiPC is calling for his immediate and unconditional release.

Alejandro Carrascal Carrasco, director and editor of the regional weekly newspaper Nor Oriente, was arrested in Bagua, capital of Utcumbamba province, Amazonas department, on 11 January and held in police custody overnight. He appeared in court the next day where he was given a one-year prison sentence for allegedly defaming a local official in a series of articles alleging corruption in the Utcumbamba technological institute. The case was brought by a former director of the institute in 2005.

Carrascal, who reportedly suffers from high blood pressure, fainted during the hearing and was taken to hospital. However, the judge completed the sentencing in his absence and the editor was transferred the same day from hospital to the San Humberto prison in Bagua. He has reportedly appealed the sentence.

There were a number of apparent irregularities in the trial. In addition to being sentenced in absentia, Carrascal says he had not received any notification that the court's decision was due. According to one local press report, the defamation case against him had previously been abandoned by the plaintiff.

Local journalists and Carrascal's family have condemned his conviction as an act of "revenge" and the prison sentence is widely seen as punishment for his editorial line. Nor Oriente is said to be very critical of the authorities and Carrascal has been outspoken in his defence of the indigenous population and the Amazon region. For example, he publically criticized the government over the security forces' treatment of indigenous communities protesting against oil and mining projects in Bagua in June 2009 during which dozens of indigenous people were killed, scores were detained and around 200 injured.

Background
This is the second case of a well-known Peruvian journalist being imprisoned for defamation in just over a year. Television presenter Magaly Medina was given a five-month sentence in October 2008 for allegedly defaming a football player. She was released at the end of 2008 after serving half of her sentence.

Useful links

• Report by Reporters Without Borders (13 January 2010): http://www.rsf.org/Editor-of-Amazonian-weekly-gets.html (English), http://www.rsf.org/El-director-de-un-semanario-fue.htm  (Spanish)
• Report by the International Press Institute (IPI) (13 January 2010): http://www.freemedia.at/startpage/singleview/97d3d30d49/4667/ (English only)