On Friday afternoon, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court ruled that the Prosecutor’s Office and the Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) broke the law when they traced a journalist’s phone calls. The decision served as a strong rebuke to law enforcement and reinforced Costa Rica’s long history of respect for press freedom.
Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Police arrested six suspects Thursday morning for allegedly growing and distributing marijuana and synthetic drugs at high-flying high school parties.
Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) raided three homes and an office in Escazú Tuesday morning as part of an investigation into a million-dollar fraud and money laundering scheme that targeted people living in the United States.
Two suspects stole upwards of 3,000 boxes of soda crackers of various brands late on the night of Jan. 25. The suspects allegedly took a shipping container from a parking lot in San Rafael, Alajuela. The biscuit bandits used a gun to threaten a night watchman before gagging and tying him up.
Costa Rica's Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court ordered the Judicial Investigation Police – accused of spying – to allow the daily Diario Extra access to public information relevant to the case and to not to take any action against the newspaper. A court spokeswoman, Vanilly Cantillo, communicated the information in a Friday statement.
Several national and international press freedom groups have criticized alleged spying on Costa Rican journalists by the Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ), including the Inter American Press Association and Reporters Without Borders. Claudio Paolillo, chairman of the press freedom group’s Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information condemned the apparent snooping and said it threw into question Costa Rica’s respect for press freedom.
Documents recently obtained by The Tico Times in the investigation of Jairo Mora’s death help unravel the mystery behind the murder of a young Costa Rican conservationist who once worked peacefully with poachers on the beach he tried to protect.
