Press Release – Collectif Bellaciao sued in defamation by Mario SANDOVAL

On January 12, 2012, Roberto Ferrario, one of the spokesmen of the Collectif BELLACIAO, will appear before the Criminal Court of Auxerre, assisted by his lawyer, Maître France WEYL, following a libel suit that Mr. Mario Sandoval filed against several media, including Marianne2, Mediapart, Le Grand Soir, Courrier International, France Info, El Correo, Calpa ...

Mr. Mario Sandoval, a former Argentine police officer, sues BELLACIAO for the publication, on our forum, of an article released by El Correo (based on an article on Pagina12 ) indicating his involvement with the former military junta in power in the 70’s, in Argentina and for his alleged role during that time.

After implicating about forty media, Mario Sandoval decided to restrict his complaint, among the relevant media, to only a dozen.

Mr. SANDOVAL had already been subject of an article in the Le Monde Diplomatique in 2007, on the international support that would have had the paramilitaries in Colombia.

It is therefore the French court that will have to consider questions that - in the context of today’s Argentina of the end of amnesty for the relatives of the junta and the re-opening of criminal cases - may be of great significance for the victims, to justice and history.

Of course, the issue is primarily legal: will the Collectif BELLACIAO, through his spokesman, be sentenced for libel or not?

We hope not, as you can imagine, for we claim our good faith and claim having nothing to reproach ourselves in this matter.

Moreover, in general, our political position on defamation has always been clear: that law should not exist.

If it seems honest that possible libels are granted automatically a full right response of the defendant (its refusal would be sanctioned) in the columns of the concerned media directly or indirectly (as in our case here), this law should not allow some to hide their crimes, as is too often the case.

This law should not be used to settle political scores; it should not be used to muzzle freedom of speech, the work of journalists, the activity of trade union activists or independent sites.

Apart from the question of our legal responsibility, it is also a political issue which is raised in this matter and beyond the specific context of Argentina. It is a question likely to have an international reputation which will be judged in its substance: the alleged facts to Mario Sandoval in the incriminated article are they true or false? Are they credible? Is there any material elements, historical elements... which could lead to think that the conclusion the article from El Correo was not defamatory? Who is Mario SANDOVAL? ...

The Collectif BELLACIAO fully supports, of course, his spokesman Roberto FERRARIO, in this new lawsuit and will keep you informed of its latest developments

Dear friends and comrades, we thank you in advance for all the political, moral and financial support you could bring in this new trial, as you have been supporting us for nearly ten years.

HASTA LA VICTORIA SIEMPRE!

#Sandoval #Argentina #Difamation #Bellaciao

-----

Bellaciao on Facebook :

– https://www.facebook.com/Bellaciao.org

– http://www.facebook.com/ferrariorobertobis

– http://www.facebook.com/FerrarioRoberto

-----

Support Bellaciao, thank you !

– http://bellaciao.org/souscription
(secure form)