indicating that he did not have time because he was “in meetings.” 122 Far from providing his version of the facts, J.C.T.R., sent a notarized letter addressed to the director of the news desk of La Nación in which he required that “within two days, [he] be informed of the source of the information provided and the evidence it had seen in order to make such serious assertions.” 123 The Court recalls the importance of the protection of journalistic sources, a cornerstone of freedom of the press and, in general, of a democratic society (supra para. 70). This leads the Court to consider that J.C.T.R.’s request was totally inappropriate. What would have been appropriate – and also more expeditious and effective – and what did not occur in this case, was the use of the right of rectification, a non-punitive mechanism that could have repaired the harm caused by the dissemination of an inexact information. 92. Lastly, the Court notes with concern that the sanction imposed on the journalists had a chilling effect on them and was disproportionate to the objective sought. Thus, Mr. Moya Chacón referred to the proceedings and the subsequent sentence as “one of the most distressing moments” of his life and that, as a professional journalist, it made him fearful of “continuing the work of journalism,” affecting his work performance and even resulting in a sort of “self-censorship.” 124 Witness Armando Manuel González Rodicio, Editor in Chief of La Nación when the article was published, expressed himself similarly when indicating that “[u]nfortunately, and as a result of these reflections, we have frequently chosen silence or the omission of some information in order not to run risks” and that “[t]he insecurity caused by the possibility of a civil conviction, despite the conformity of what is published with the rules of good journalism, c[ould] only lead to self-censorship.” 125 93. Based on the foregoing, the Court concludes that, in the instant case, the civil sanction imposed on Messrs. Moya Chacón and Parrales Chaves was not necessary or proportionate to the purpose sought and, therefore, violated Article 13(1) and 13(2) of the American Convention, in relation to Article 1(1) of this instrument. Finally, although 122 During the public hearing, Mr. Moya Chacón stated: “when we were about to publish, we called – I say we because I called [J.C.T.R.] personally and Freddy tried to locate him in the area, to tell him that we were about the publish; that we had this; in other words, we laid out the whole scenario we had, and he just sent word that he did not have time, that he was in meetings and, therefore. the article was published.” Statement made by Ronald Moya Chacón at the public hearing held on February 14, 2022, during the Court’s 146th regular session. 123 Cf. Notarized letter of J.C.T.R. sent to La Nación, dated December 19, 2005 (evidence file, folio 28). 124 In this regard, Mr. Moya Chacón stated the following: The impact on journalism is closely related, as I have already mentioned, to the self-censorship that one imposes on oneself, especially following the conviction, because the risk of being sued again for situations is always latent, and I can illustrate this with a situation – perhaps anecdotic – but which is explanatory: following the conviction, some people called us, not source people, rather people who were involved in acts of corruption, some of them members of the police, telling us that if we published anything, the same thing would happen to us that had happened in the case of [J.C.T.R]; the same meant that they would sue us, and since that possibility was real owing to the sentence against us, we said that we did not want our assets to be harmed again, and we therefore applied self-censorship. Mr. Moya Chacón also indicated that the judgment convicting them in the civil sphere “emboldened organized crime in Costa Rica,” because it resulted in a “fear of publishing”; moreover, they had even been threatened by members of the police forces following the delivery of the said judgment who told them that “the same would happen to [them], as happened in the matter of [J.C.T.R.].” Cf. Statement made by Ronald Moya Chacón at the public hearing held on February 14, 2022, during the Court’s 146th regular session. Cf. Affidavit of Armando Manuel González Rodicio dated December 13, 2021, pp. 2 and 3 (evidence file, folios 1457 and 1458). 125 29