Peru President Alan García has indicated that he believes jailed TV presenter Magaly Medina should be released. He told a group of Medina supporters on December 10 that he thought the two months she has spent in prison were "sufficient" and that he would discuss the matter with justice minister Rosario Fernández.
The host of a celebrity gossip show on privately-owned ATV, Medina has been serving a five-month jail sentence since October 16 for claiming on the air that soccer star Paolo Guerrero was having an extra-marital affair.
The justice minister told privately-owned radio RPP Noticias on December 10 that, while the president has the "constitutional power to pardon any citizen," Medina is not yet in a position to receive a pardon as her sentence has not been finalised. Although Medina was obliged to begin serving the sentence as soon as it was passed, an appeal has been filed by her lawyer, César Nakazaki.
"The president's reaction is a step in the right direction and is therefore welcome, even if belated," Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) said. "We hope his intervention will speed Medina's release, as her sentence is out of all proportion to the charge on which she was convicted, and should normally have been suspended pending the outcome of the appeal."
Gossip reporter Medina and producer Ney Guerrero Orellana were sentenced to prison terms after a Lima court found them guilty of defamation. Lima's 27th Criminal Court found Medina, host of the nightly gossip show 'Magaly Te Ve' on national television station ATV and owner of the weekly magazine Magaly, and Guerrero, her producer, guilty of defaming Peruvian soccer star Paolo Guerrero. Medina was sentenced to five months in prison and Guerrero three months.
The court, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also ordered the two journalists to pay Paolo Guerrero 80,000 soles (US$26,000) in damages. Medina and Guerrero were taken into custody immediately after the sentencing.
The case stemmed from a series of photographs and videos of Paolo Guerrero at a Lima night club, which were aired on 'Magaly Te Ve' and printed in Magaly in November 2007. According to press reports, Medina alleged that the player had been out drinking early the morning of a match between the Peruvian and Brazilian national soccer teams. An investigation by the Peruvian Soccer Federation found that the photographs had been taken days before. In February, Paolo Guerrero filed a criminal defamation lawsuit, claiming the journalist had insulted his honour and ruined his reputation, the daily El Comercio reported.
