Ecuador

A trial to watch in Ecuador – Bini was arrested by Ecuadoran authorities in 2019 and faces charges for allegedly attempting to infiltrate the government’s computer system.

Journalist Virginia Suárez told CPJ via messaging app that she received a threatening message on the Facebook page of the digital outlet she works for she was reporting from a local cemetery.

Former President Abdalá Bucaram Ortiz posted a video to his personal Facebook account in which he complained about Monroy’s coverage of alleged criminality involving himself and his family, and uttered a threat against her.

Ecuadorian authorities must do everything in their power to conduct a credible investigation into the attack on the journalist and determine whether she was targeted for her work, said CPJ.

Ola Bini is a computer expert and human rights defender recognized worldwide, who is facing a political-judicial process in Ecuador since April 2019. Ecuadorian and international civil society organizations set up a mission to observe the preparatory hearing and trial evaluation of December 3rd, 2020.

Ecuadorian authorities should not contest journalist Juan Sarmiento’s appeal of a recent criminal conviction for critical comments about a local politician, and the country should remove speech laws from its penal code.

A group of journalists came together to write obituaries and pay tribute to those who died during the emergency, whose family members are unable to hold funerals.

IFEX-ALC condemns the actions initiated on 23 January 2020 by the Ecuadoran Telecommunications Regulation and Control Agency (Agencia de Regulación y Control de las Telecomunicaciones, Arcotel) aimed at taking Radio Pichincha Universal, a public radio station, off the air.

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ecuadorean authorities to restore radio station Pichincha Universal’s broadcast license and not penalize news outlets for their political coverage.

The issue of violence against journalists who cover organised crime in border areas requires effective and coordinated transnational cooperation. With this in mind, the IACHR proposed that Ecuador and Columbia provide a joint response in the case of the “El Comercio” reporting team. Many lessons have been learned.

IFEX-ALC condemns the threats, attacks, harassment and censorship being perpetrated against media outlets and journalists in Ecuador, as well as the repression of citizens who have taken to the streets to express their discontent with economic measures announced by President Lenín Moreno.

Journalists and media outlets continue to be targets of violence and attacks from the authorities and protesters, according to local media.

IFEX – a global network of over 100 organisations dedicated to promoting and defending freedom of expression and information – is deeply concerned over threats against César Ricaurte, Executive Director of the Fundación Andina para la Observación y el Estudio de Medios (Fundamedios). The threats began after he received a sentence of 15 days in prison and a demand for an official apology for his public rebuke of former ambassador Jorge Jurado.

Ecuador should drop all charges against Ola Bini, and allow him to return home to his family and friends. Ecuador’s leaders undermine their country’s reputation abroad and the independence of its judicial system by this fanciful and unfounded prosecution.

Almost seven months ago, journalists Javier Ortega, Paul Rivas, and Efrain Segarra were abducted and killed at the border between Ecuador and Colombia. A team of 20 reporters investigated what happened.

The alliance will seek to prove that impunity will not win, and that it is possible to work “in real time” for justice.