Honduras
Possible reform of defamation lawsPosted Oct 20 2007
The National Congress is seeking to reform Honduran defamation laws against working journalists.
Honduras’ daily newspaper El Heraldo reported that the proposal sent to the Supreme Court followed recent defamation suits that Marcelo Chimirri, director of Hondutel (a Honduran telecommunications company), had filed against six journalists.
Earlier in the month, several judges had unanimously rejected Chimirri charges against five journalists who had reported on an alleged fraud involving international phone calls.
The journalists include Renato Álvarez and Rossana Guevara, of Televicentro, Melissa Amaya and Juan Carlos Funes, of Radio Cadena Voces, and Carlos Mauricio Flores, editor of El Heraldo. Judges in San Pedro Sula, North-West of Honduras, had yet to reach a verdict regarding the sixth journalist, Nelson Fernández, managing editor of the daily La Prensa.