02/02/2012

UN: Philippines Journalist Defamation Conviction a Violation of Free Speech

"In a landmark ruling that could have global implications, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) has found that the conviction of a Philippines journalist on charges of criminal defamation violated the journalist's right to free expression. The Committee said that the nearly five-year prison sentence imposed on Alexander Adonis of Bombo Radyo in Davao City was "incompatible" with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, according to the official text of the UNHRC decision. The case stemmed from a 2001 broadcast in which Adonis reported on an alleged affair between a Philippine congressman, then-Speaker of the House Prospero Nograles, and a married woman..."

Continue reading: http://www.freemedia.at/index.php?id=288&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=5994&cHash=37bd1860b7

Author Organisation: International Press Institute