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Bolivian journalists reject Ochoa’s request for refuge
Posted On 11 Feb 2019
Ecuadornews:
The shelter requested to Bolivia by the ex-superintendent of Communication of the correísmo, Carlos Ochoa, is not well seen by a sector of journalists of that country.
According to Bolivian media reports, some communicators believe that the Government of their country should not grant him refuge. The reason? The ex-official’s record against freedom of expression and the press.
Bolivian communicators fear that if the refuge is materialized, the practices he promoted while he was superintendent could be replicated in Bolivia.
The fear was expressed by Pedro Glasinovic, president of the National Association of Journalists of Bolivia (ANPB). Last week, the Ecuadorian government reported that Ochoa (a close collaborator of Correa) and ex-legislator Sofía Espín correísta requested refuge in that country. Ecuador responded that both had legal processes.
Ochoa was dismissed by the Assembly in March 2018. He was accused of using the Communication Law to pressure, investigate and censor media critical of the previous government.
The journalist Zulema Alanes stressed that Ochoa was the operator of censorship in Ecuador and that “he is not a victim” of any injustice in his country. He recalled that he is the author of several events that violated press freedom.
On January 25, the Ecuadorian Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against Ochoa for falsifying and using a false document due to alterations to the communication law and its subsequent use to issue sanctions to the media. The file will close on February 23. Ochoa has a prison order against him. His defense appealed the injunction. (I)
