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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The Inter American Press Association is condemning a four-year sentence handed down to the director of a Venezuelan newspaper.
The association said Friday that the ruling was intended to intimidate other journalists and threatened the right of Venezuelans to be informed on matters of public interest.
A Venezuelan judge imposed the sentence on Correo de Caroni director David Natera Febres for defamation and libel. The newspaper was sued for publishing a series of reports about corruption at state mining enterprises in 2013.
Venezuela's media landscape has been remade since the late President Hugo Chavez launched the country's socialist revolution more than a decade ago. News outlets critical of the government have been disappearing under what press freedom groups call a concerted campaign of sanctions and intimidation.
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