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End President Rafael Correa’s Assault on the Free Press in Ecuador
  1. Signatures
    24 out of 5,000
    Petitioning
    1. U.S. Secretary of State (+ 1 other)
      Petitioning
      close
      • U.S. Secretary of State (Hillary Clinton)
      • Secretary General, Organization of American States (Jose Miguel Insulza)
  2. Created By
    Free Press
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

El Universo, a 90-year-old newspaper that has been a leading champion of freedom and democracy in Ecuador, is under an extraordinary attack by President Rafael Correa that could close the paper and imprison three of its directors within days. El Universo and its owners are fighting to keep their independent voice alive – raise your voice against this travesty by asking US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Jose Miguel Insulza, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS),  to condition Ecuador’s OAS membership on the government restoring free speech, freedom of the press and the independent judiciary, in accordance with the Inter-American Democratic Charter.

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End President Rafael Correa’s Assault on the Free Press in Ecuador

Greetings,

I just signed the following petition to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton & OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza

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Restore a free press, free speech & an independent judiciary in Ecuador

El Universo, a 90-year-old newspaper that has been a leading champion of freedom and democracy in Ecuador, is under extraordinary attack by President Rafael Correa that could close the paper and imprison three of its owners within days.

The facts of this case are stunning. Angered by an opinion piece that he believed insulted his honor, President Rafael Correa filed a criminal complaint against the newspaper, the columnist who wrote the op-ed, and three of the paper’s directors. The judge who heard the case issued a 156-page ruling in the president’s favor less than 24 hours later, sentencing the four journalists to three years in prison and awarding Correa $40 million in compensation – enough to shutter the paper.

Afterwards came a startling revelation that showed how the country’s entire justice system had been subverted: an independent forensic analysis of the judge’s computer hard drive revealed that he had not written the ruling, but that the court decision had in fact been written by President Correa’s attorney.

Despite public disclosure of these and other outrages, the El Universo case has continued through Ecuador’s court system, with several judges upholding the original decision upon appeal, further illustrating the extent to which the country’s independent judiciary has been compromised.

While El Universo and its owners are fighting to keep their paper and its independent voice alive, I am writing to ask you with all your authority to urgently act to condition Ecuador’s OAS membership on the government taking immediate steps to restore freedom of the press, free speech and the country’s independent judiciary, in accordance with the Inter-American Democratic Charter. Furthermore, I urge you to strengthen the OAS Office of the Special Rapporteur of Freedom of Expression and protect it from becoming a victim of Ecuador and other enemies of freedom and democracy that are trying to kill or weaken it. I think the severity of this situation merits nothing less.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this urgent matter.

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Sincerely,

[Your name]

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