Name: Gustavo Azócar
Outlet: Televisora Regional del Táchira
Occupation: Journalist
Imprisoned: August 1, 2009
Charges: Fraud and swindle
Sentence: Pending
Background: TV journalist Gustavo Azócar calls himself "the first journalist
imprisoned by the Hugo Chávez Revolution." He was imprisoned after a
years-long criminal process for fraud and swindle charges related to the
purchase of ads for his TV station. The charges have been repeatedly found baseless.
Azócar insists the charges and his imprisonment are nothing but retribution
for his criticism of the Chávez administration. Venezuela's journalists union
has demanded his immediate release and called his case a "perverse judicial
situation." Azócar was imprisoned in the Santa Ana Prison, in the town of
San Cristóbal. On Oct. 15, Azócar was notified that a Táchira State court upheld the decision to keep him in preventive detention until the date of his trial, which has not been determined yet.
Links:    Azócar's website
Venezuela's journalists union demands his release

Upper court upholds decision to keep him in preventive detention