Unusual Press Freedom Victory in Panama

A Panama City judge today dismissed a case of criminal defamation brought against Eric Jackson, publisher of The Panama News and based on a complaint filed by one Mark Boswell.

Boswell, who is also known as "Rex Freeman" filed his complaint for "crimes against the honor" after Jackson had published an article about him calling him an "offshore hustler" and a "scammer" who was running unlicensed and probably fraudulent banking and High Yield Investment schemes in Panama after having fled creditors in Costa Rica.

Jackson also exposed Boswell's past as a member and talkradio wombat of the ultra right-wing patriot militia movement:

Remember the US "patriot" militia movement from which Oklahoma City federal building bomber Timothy McVeigh came? That confluence of racist, neo-fascist, survivalist, tax resistance, weapons obsessed, "Christian identity" and apocalyptic strains was shoved farther out into the margins of the political wilderness when McVeigh lived out one of their favorite fantasies and then the Bush administration carried out some of their other ones. 

 

But for the most part, the people involved didn't just go away. Some of them are grabbing headlines today in the guise of anti-immigrant militias.

However, for some people the patriot movement was good business. Take one Mark Boswell, for example. A law school dropout, he formed the "American Law Club" and hosted Denver meetings at which followers of the right-wing militia movement were instructed that they could become rich by filing "non-commercial judicial liens" against their least-favorite prosecutors, judges, elected officials or companies. In addition to a series of pricey "law seminars," Boswell would sell his "Civil Rights Task Force" jackets, deliberately made to look like the FBI and ATF apparel, and genuine-looking fake law enforcement badges. Boswell urged his customers to buy the things, wear them to court when their favorite tax resister or weapons law violator was in the defendant's dock, and warn judges and prosecutors that they were being watched.

Boswell filed a criminal "calumnia y injuria" complaint and could almost immediately count on the unconditional support of another member of the extreme right within the expatriate American community in Panama: Donald Kent Winner, a retired member of US air force intelligence who now runs the website Panama Guide. In between ripped content from legitimate news outlets, Winner promotes the often shady schemes of his "sponsors". Years ago, he went through great lengths supporting one Tom McMurrain, another American con man who ran a land, teak and noni investment fraud and was eventually arrested and extradited to Atlanta, Georgia, where he now resides in jail. That case bears many similarities to the current Boswell affair; in both cases the Panamanian authorities didn't act against the fraud but instantly moved upon criminal libel complaints filed against the journalists who exposed them, which in both cases were eventually dismissed. McMurrain was a wanted man in the US, and Boswell has a warrant for his arrest outstanding against him in Costa Rica.

Filing criminal libel complaints and the frivolous use of criminal defamation laws in Panama is a tool often used by politicians, criminals and hustlers to silence journalists or even business competitors. The sentences - prison as well as fines - have recently been doubled as part of a revision of the penal code. The situation has gotten so bad that it's considered an investment risk these days: Florida based attorney Richard Lehman recently called it the number one risk for anyone having to do any business in or with Panama.

Civil society and international press organizations have so far been powerless and incompetent in challenging this sad situation. Journalist groups allowed themselves to be co-opted in the government's penal code reform and protests have basically been cosmetic. Media owners have done absolutely nothing. Corruption in journalism is rampant. To add insult to injury, civil society consistently commits strategic blunders by selecting the wrong scandals as its banner cases: Recently they were outraged when a PR hitman-for-hire, one Omar Wong, saw one of his sleaze rags sequestered by a prominent real estate tycoon whose private tax returns he had bought and then published on behalf of a business enemy of said tycoon. To compare: There wasn't any outrage at all when Boswell and the Public Ministry went after Eric Jackson.

Boswell has reportedly, through his lawyer, announced that he will appeal the decision to have the case against Jackson dismissed. It is not very likely that this will succeed though; even the Panamanian authorities seem to have finally understood that prosecuting a journalist on behalf of a convicted criminal who is wanted in neighboring Costa Rica was maybe not such a great idea after all.