COSTA RICA

Costa Rica has yet to comply with the judgment by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the Mauricio Herrera case, but the ?liberalizing? impact of that ruling has been palpable for Costa Rican journalism. Past months have seen a reduction in the tendency to sue the media, which may be due to the judgment. On February 14, Eduardo Ulibarri Bilbao ? the former editor of La Nación , and Gina Polini Guardia, publisher of the supplement Viva ? were found not guilty of violating the law governing public performances, audiovisual and printed matter. The charges were for the publication of photographs from the Stanley Kubrick movie Eyes Wide Shut, which the National Council overseeing public performances and related activities considered morally offensive. In a well-grounded judgment, the San José Second Circuit Misdemeanor Court concluded that the photographs published to illustrate a movie review cannot be considered pornographic. On July 2, 2004, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights overturned the guilty verdict issued by a criminal court against La Nación reporter, Mauricio Herrera Ulloa, ruling that it was incompatible with the American Convention on Human Rights. Herrera was sentenced to pay a fine equivalent to 120 times the daily minimum wage, as well as 60 million Costa Rican colons (approximately $100,000) in compensation. La Nación was found guilty in civil court as a co-defendant. The Court held that ??punishment of journalists for participating in the dissemination of the statements made by third parties would seriously threaten the contribution by the press to debates on questions of public interest.? Furthermore, it found that the Costa Rican appeal did not satisfy the requirement for appeals under the convention and ordered Costa Rica to modify its legislation within six months. The term has expired without the government modifying the law or paying the court-ordered compensation. Preliminary proceedings have begun in the murder trial for the July 7, 2001 shooting death of journalist Parmenio Medina Pérez. The suspected masterminds, businessman Omar Chaves Mora, and a priest, Minor Calvo Aguilar, remain in custody. The police also arrested Jorge Castillo, a sports entrepreneur, and Juan Ramón Hernández, a mechanic, charging them as gunmen in the murder. Luis Aguirre Jaime, aka El Indio , was previously charged as a gunman, and Andrés Chaves Matarrita has been charged as an accomplice. John Gutiérrez Ramírez and Danny Smith, who are also in custody, are being prosecuted as go-betweens for the killers and the masterminds. The prosecution has named César Murillo, aka Nicho, as another gunman. Murillo was killed by the police while attempting to rob a bank together with Aguirre and Chaves. The police have closed the book on the killing of journalist Ivannia Mora Varela, but the prosecutor has yet to file charges against the suspects: Eugenio Millot Lasala, a businessman and suspected mastermind, and Edward Serna Molina, Freddy Alexander Cortés and Nelson López Giraldo, the suspected gunmen. Edgardo Martín was named as a go-between in the murder-for-hire. In this case, it appears that the motive was unrelated to the victim's journalistic activities. On the legislative front there is a notable lack of political will to implement the changes approved by the special congressional commission on freedom of speech. The wording approved by the commission is merely a timid step in the matter and some of its provisions have been superseded by the Herrera judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.