62 Considerations of the Court 104. Article 13 of the American Convention provides, inter alia, that: 1. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought and expression. This right includes freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing, in print, in the form of art, or through any other medium of one's choice. 2. The exercise of the right provided for in the foregoing paragraph shall not be subject to prior censorship but shall be subject to subsequent imposition of liability, which shall be expressly established by law to the extent necessary to ensure: morals. a. respect for the rights or reputations of others; or b. the protection of national security, public order, or public health or 3. The right of expression may not be restricted by indirect methods or means, such as the abuse of government or private controls over newsprint, radio broadcasting frequencies, or equipment used in the dissemination of information, or by any other means tending to impede the communication and circulation of ideas and opinions. […] 105. The case sub judice concerns the prosecution, conviction and criminal penalty imposed on journalist Mauricio Herrera Ulloa and the civil liability imposed on him and on Mr. Fernán Vargas Rohrmoser, legal representative of the newspaper “La Nación,” for having published several articles that partially reproduced news reports that originally appeared in a number of European newspapers concerning the alleged illicit activities of Mr. Félix Przedborski. At the time the articles appeared, Mr. Przedborski was Costa Rica’s representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, headquartered in Austria, as honorary consul. Four of the articles published in “La Nación” were the subject of two criminal complaints brought by Mr. Przedborski (supra para. 95.p), which ended in a conviction. The judgment found Mr. Herrera Ulloa guilty on four counts of publishing offenses constituting defamation.” The conviction carried with it the respective criminal and civil consequences. The judgment also held the newspaper “La Nación” jointly and severally liable. 106. Based on the proven facts in the instant case, the Court must determine whether Costa Rica unduly restricted journalist Mauricio Herrera Ulloa’s right to freedom of expression by his criminal prosecution and the criminal and civil penalties imposed. The Court will not look at the question of whether the published articles constitute a given crime under Costa Rican law; instead, it will examine whether, through Mr. Mauricio Herrera Ulloa’s criminal conviction (and its consequences) and the civil penalty imposed, the State violated or restricted the right to freedom of thought and expression protected under Article 13 of the Convention. 107. The Court will proceed to analyze this article in the following order: 1) content of the right to freedom of thought and expression; 2) freedom of thought and expression in a democratic society; 3) the role of the mass media and journalism in relation to freedom of thought and expression, and 4) permissible restrictions on freedom of thought and expression in a democratic society.