'They Want to Silence Us': Honduran Journalist Handed 10 Years
Source: teleSUR
Honduran journalist David Romero, sentenced to jail for libel and slander, reported massive protest-inspiring cases of government corruption.
As international alarm around Honduras grows over the countrys human rights crisis, the Honduran journalist who broke major stories of government corruption last year, David Romero Ellner, has been handed down a 10 year sentence for six counts of libel and defamation in yet another blow to freedom of expression in one of the most dangerous countries for journalists in Latin America.
This is the culmination of a manipulated process with the intent to silence us, Romero said on his radio program after learning of the sentence.
Judges unanimously sentenced Romero on Tuesday to one year and eight months for each of the six crimes he was found guilty of last November, adding up to a total of 10 years jail time, local media reported.
The announcement comes after multiple delays, as his sentence was initially expected at the end of January.
Romeros supporters argue that the journalist is a victim of political persecution, while his lawyers have slammed the proceedings as flawed from the beginning.
But Romero vowed to continue to champion free speech and resistance.
We are not going to tire as long as we have the power of the word. Were going to keep doing it, Romero said in a radio broadcast. Were going to denounce the rogue and corrupt ones by their names. We are not alone, there are many observing eyes, especially in the international community.
Read more: http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/35802-they-want-to-silence-us-honduran-journalist-handed-10-years
roody
(10,849 posts)AxionExcel
(755 posts)back in the US, back in the US, back in the US of A.
Odin2005
(53,521 posts)billhicks76
(5,082 posts)No amount of ignorance or excuses can cover this fact up. Disgusting. If our party and people can't face facts and do something then all I can hope for is that someone rots in hell for this.
Octafish
(55,745 posts)...then along came an oligarch in 2009 and everything changed after that.