Nicaragua: Press chief of radio La Costeñísima declared "guilty" for the crime of slander

October 1, 2020, El Rama, Nicaragua -- Journalist and press officer of Radio La Costeñísima, Kalúa Salazar was sentenced to pay a fine of 7684 córdobas (approx. 220 USD), for the crime of slander after she reported on corruption by the mayor of El Rama municipality. The fine equals to four months of salary of Kalua.  

Kalua’s lawyers appealed the decision, stating although the penalty imposed is minimal, the journalist should never have been charged as guilty.

Kalúa Salazar, upon leaving the court stated that these types of sentences are used as an attempt to “criminalize” independent journalism. However, she stressed that La Costeñísima radio will continue to be a voice for those who want to publicly denounce abuses and human rights violations that are committed in the country.

The trial against the press officer of La Costeñísima was published in official media, the journalist was not even officially notified for the preliminary hearing that was held on August 19, but she found out from the publications on the social network of a local medium, this alone constitutes a breach of the procedural law Kalua’s lawyers stated.

Kalúa Salazar's sentence was read a day after the Executive Branch sent the initiative "Special Cybercrime Law" to the National Assembly, which foresees prison sentences for anyone who discloses information classified by the regime as "false news." The proposal breaches basic constitutional rights and criminalizes the exercise of journalism in Nicaragua.

In the second half of 2020, Independent Journalists and Communicators of Nicaragua (PCIN) documented “three cases of judicial harassment and five of threats of judicial prosecution, for the crimes of insult, slander and threats against journalists”. Such types of threats represent a vicious form of censorship, intimidation and criminalization of journalism. The Coalition For Women In Journalism urges the authorities to end its strategy of repressing freedom of the press in Nicaragua.