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From: "Dana Aldea" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Universal,Defamation, libel charges recodified,Apr 13
Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 19:06:02 +0200
Defamation, libel charges recodified
Journalists in Mexico can no longer be thrown in jail on libel or defamation
charges
By Kelly Arthur Garrett/The Herald Mexico
El Universal
Viernes 13 de abril de 2007
Journalists in Mexico can no longer be thrown in jail on libel or defamation
charges.
Calling his action "an historic step" for press freedom, President Caldero'n
signed into law Thursday a decree that decriminalizes libel and defamation
throughout the Republic.
The decree, passed by the Chamber of Deputies last year and the Senate
earlier this year, changes both the penal and civil codes so that
accusations of libel or defamation will be settled in civil court as a
dispute between a plaintiff and a defendant.
A guilty verdict will result in monetary compensation, not jail time.
"Thanks to this reform, journalists can now perform their duties without
fear of being jailed because of accusations by those who feel they have been
affected by their work," Caldero'n said at a signing ceremony at the
presidential residence of Los Pinos. "With this new legal framework, the
Constitution's fundamental principles of freedom of expression and freedom
of opinion are guaranteed."
The reform brings Mexico in line with most developed countries, which treat
such allegations civilly rather than criminally.
Until now, however, a journalist here could face jail time if somebody felt
he or she had been insulted by words ("injuria"), been the victim of false
or malicious attributions ("calumnia"), or had his or her good reputation
attacked ("difamacio'n").
Consequently, because Mexican judicial proceedings often call for a suspect
to be detained while awaiting trial, journalists could be - and often were -
jailed immediately after a public official issued a complaint.
"The criminalization of libel and defamation was an instrument for
controlling press freedom," said Ricardo Raphael, a political analyst and EL
UNIVERSAL columnist.
That potential for abuse was brought to public awareness in December 2005
when journalist and author Lydia Cacho was arrested in her Cancu'n office and
driven 19 hours to a Puebla prison after a powerful industrialist close to
the Puebla governor accused her of defamation and libel.
In Cacho's case, she was released that same day and the charges were later
dismissed.
At the signing ceremony, President Caldero'n acknowledged the media's concern
about the chilling effect inherent in the old system.
"Decriminalization was a demand from everybody involved in communication as
a requirement for consolidating our democracy," he said. "Press freedom
should not only be recognized by the state, but guaranteed by the state."
But the president added that decriminalization was not a license to defame.
"This doesn't mean that practicing journalism is synonymous with impunity,"
he said. "An individual's or a society's honor, reputation and good name is
also a right that the state must safeguard."
Francisco Javier Rami'rez Acu~a, Caldero'n's interior secretary, went farther
by appearing to outline acceptable media behavior.
"The media faces the challenge of informing with objectivity and offering
all points of view a space in the debate," he said. "They also must become a
real actor in promoting the welfare and progress of our fatherland."
Caldero'n also said Thursday that he recognized the urgency of protecting
journalists from physical intimidation.
http://www.mexiconews.com.mx/miami/24207.html
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