An Honduran TV news anchor who was banned for 16 months from practising journalism has had the court's sentence confirmed at appeal.
In December last year, Julio Ernesto Alvarado of Globo TV was convicted of criminal defamation as a result of coverage on his programme, "Mi Nación", of alleged corruption by a university dean in 2006.
He was sentenced to 16 months in jail and banned from working as a journalist for 16 months. In order to avoid imprisonment, he agreed in April to pay a fine, but the ban was reinstated after a further court hearing.
Now the penal appeals court, sitting in Tegucigalpa, has ruled that the journalism ban should remain in place. The ruling was made on 22 August but was not communicated to Alvarado's lawyer until 26 September.
Alvarado is a member of PEN International, the human rights organisation that fights for freedom of expression, having founded its Honduran body.
Marian Botsford Fraser, chair of PEN's writers in prison committee, said: "For eight years, Mr Alvarado has been trapped in a web of judicial harassment and un-investigated threats. His case is a mockery of justice, and part of an alarming climate of violence, impunity and fear in Honduras."
PEN considers Alvarado's conviction to be politically motivated and urges the Honduran authorities to review his case as a matter of urgency.
Source: Pen International
