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Venezuela judge removed from case against Chavez government critic

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Venezuela judge Alicia Torres said Monday that she has been removed from her position presiding over a case against Globovision TV owner Guillermo Zuloaga. Zuloaga has been charged with usury and conspiracy to commit a crime, and Torres said she was removed from the case after she refused to issue an order prohibiting Zuloaga from leaving the country. Globovision has been critical of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and Zuloago has said the charges against him are politically motivated. Commentators have also said that Torres's dismissal is further evidence of the government using the judiciary to quiet opponents. Zuloaga's trial is the latest in a series of disputes between the government and independent media outlets. In May 2007, Venezuelan Information Minister William Lara filed lawsuits against media giant CNN and Globovision, alleging that the two stations presented false information concerning Chavez and that Globovision issued a call for Chavez's assassination. In August 2007, the Venezuelan Supreme Tribunal of Justice suspended an order issued by the government's telecommunication commission requiring Radio Caracas Television to register as a "national audiovisual production service" or face shutdown after agreeing to hear a case on whether cable and satellite television channels are obligated to transmit government-mandated content. In July 2006, the Inter American Press Association claimed Chavez was silencing dissent by prosecuting journalists under questionable circumstances.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on July 21, 2009 (boomark / email).