UPDATE: Ecuadoran President Pardons Daily & Journos in Libel Judgment

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El Universo, facing a $40 million libel judgment, and  four journalists looking at three-year jail terms, are breathing more easily on the news that Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has issued pardons, the Associated Press reports.

Last month, the Latin American nation's highest court upheld the libel judgment awarded the 48-year-old Correa based on a story alleging Correa ordered security forces last September to open fire in a hospital filled with civilians (see "TUOL" post 2/17/12). In what amounts to a public relations coup for Correa, but fosters a growing unease among Ecuadorian journalists concerning press freedom, the president characterized his granting of the pardons as a victory over a "corrupt press," according to a post on the iMediaEthics.org Web site.

It is unclear whether a scheduled March 28 hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding the case will go forward now that El Universo and its reporters no longer are liable for the defamation judgment, .

UPDATE: Ecuador High Court Upholds Libel Judgment for President Correa

PRESIDENTE RAFAEL CORREA EN EL CIUDADANO TV (Photo credit: Presidencia de la República del Ecuador)A $40 million libel judgment awarded last July to Ecuador's President Rafael Correa against  the El Universo daily newspaper and its ex-opinion editor Emilio Pallacio has been upheld by a three-judge panel of  the Latin American nation's highest court, CNN reports.

The 48-year-old Correa, who has led Ecuador since 2008, sued when the defendant published an article accusing him of ordering security forces last September to open fire in a hospital filled with civilians. (See "TUOL" post 1/26/12.)

The Committee to Protect Journalists blasted the court decision in a statement issued from its New York headquarters.  Pallacio, who not only is responsible for $30 million of the judgment, but also faces a three-year jail term under the court ruling, presently is seeking asylum in Miami, according to CNN.