Bonil that was considered by the government as false, defamatory, and "inaccurate"11, who in an unprecedented event was forced to rectify said caricature. As for the stigmatizing statements, for example, on January 7, 2017, during the show hosted by President Correa himself called "Enlace Ciudadano", he described the Expreso and El Universo media, and some of their columnists as "corrupt press" and "ignorant", and accused them of "bad faith" and of being the "shame of others," after they published articles and opinions on the financial management of the country12. In addition, he has publicly qualified journalists on several occasions as "ink hitmen", "journalists without ethics", "clowns"13, among other public statements. C. Regarding the alleged victims 1. Emilio Palacio Urrutia 16. Emilio Palacio Urrutia, worked as a journalist, columnist, and "Opinion Editor" in the newspaper El Universo since February 1, 199914. In 2005, at the time when Correa was the Minister of Finance, Palacio published an article called "Bocazas" —in which he criticized the statements made by the then official regarding the adoption of the dollar as the official currency—15. As he has stated in public media, that article would have been rejected by the then official —later President of the Republic—16. On May 19, 2007, Palacio participated in a public debate with invited journalists —which was broadcasted from the weekly radio link of then President Correa—. During the debate, the journalist expressed critical opinions and amid interruptions, the then president ordered his expulsion from the program17. On May 13, 2009, due to his criticism, the journalist would have been threatened via email; consequently, the journalist reported the events and was assigned police protection18. In 2010, he was sentenced to three years in prison for having published a critical article against the then head of the National Financial Corporation (CFN) of Ecuador, Camilo Samán19. After the trial and conviction as a result of the article "No a las Mentiras", on July 7, 2011, Palacio decided to resign to his position at El Universo20. Later, in 2012, he obtained political asylum in the United States of America21 and currently has a blog on the Internet where he publishes opinion articles22. 2. Carlos Nicolás Pérez Lappenti, Carlos Eduardo Pérez Barriga, and César Enrique Pérez Barriga 17. At the time of the events, Carlos Nicolás Pérez Lappenti served as president and legal representative of the El Universo Company, and also as deputy director of "Nuevos Medios" of the same company. As president and legal representative, he had the functions of "[p]residing the sessions of the general meeting of shareholders". Also, as deputy director of "Nuevos Medios", he had the mission "to design and plan the development and creation of digital products and services for Grupo El Universo". For his part, Carlos Eduardo Pérez Barriga served as executive vice president and legal representative of El Universo and was a journalistic director of said media since 2002. As director, he had the mission of "defining the editorial line, as IACHR. Press Release No. R188/18. Office of the Special Rapporteur concludes its visit to Ecuador and presents its preliminary observations and recommendations on freedom of expression in the country. August 24, 2018. 11 IACHR. Annual Report 2017. Annual Report of the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression. Chapter II (Evaluation of the state of freedom of expression in the hemisphere OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 210/17. December 31, 2017. Para. 453. 12 See: Knight Centar for Journalism in the Americas. The University of Texas at Austin, “`Discurso estigmatizante` de Correa fomentaría agresiones contra la prensa en Ecuador, aseguran organizaciones”. May 23, 2015. 13 14 Annex 3. Documents El Universo. Annexes No. 25, 90, 91 93, 94, 97 of the Initial Petition presented to the IACHR on October 24, 2011. 15 See: El Universo, “Bocazas”, July 17, 2005; Emilio Palacio, “Mi vida en 850 palabras”, no date. 16 See: Emilio Palacio, “Mi vida en 850 palabras”, no date. See: El Universo, “Correa expulsa a columnista al que invitó a su cadena”, May 20, 2007; presidenciaecuador / You Tube channel. Cadena Radial Diálogo con el Presidente 2. May 29, 2007. 17 IACHR. Annual Report 2009. Annual Report of the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression. Chapter II (Evaluation of the state of freedom of expression in the hemisphere). OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 51. December 30, 2009. Para. 201 18 IACHR. Annual Report 2010. Annual Report of the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression. Chapter II (Evaluation of the state of freedom of expression in the hemisphere). OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 5. March 7, 2011. Para. 213. This case is under the admissibility stage before the IACHR. 19 20 See: El Universo, “Emilio Palacio renunció a El Universo“, July 10, 2011. 21 See: El Universo, “Estados Unidos concede asilo político a Emilio Palacio”, August 30, 2012. 22 See: http://www.emiliopalacio.com/portada.html 4