Ecuador’s Assault on Free Speech

[Commentary] Ecuador’s highest court has delivered a staggering, shameful blow to the country’s democracy, siding with President Rafael Correa’s campaign to silence and bankrupt El Universo, Ecuador’s largest newspaper.

Last week, the court upheld a $42 million criminal libel judgment against Emilio Palacio, El Universo’s editorial page editor, and three of the paper’s directors. The ruling also ratified three-year prison sentences for all of the men. Correa, who is expected to seek re-election next year, vowed more suits would follow. His relentless campaign against free speech also includes harassing his critics and forcing independent broadcasters off the air and has rightly drawn criticism from the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression at the Organization of American States. Correa has also been pushing the O.A.S. to make “reforms” that would silence the special rapporteur. The United States and other democracies need to loudly protest Correa’s assault on a free press and his cynical hijacking of Ecuador’s judicial system.