Four Ecuadorian journalists have been sentenced to jail after Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa, sued them for libel, the BBC reported.

The newspaper, El Universo, “published an article questioning an army raid to rescue [the President] from striking policemen.” The newspaper’s columnist, Emilio Palacio, also called the president a dictator, the BBC explained. The one article that led to the libel suit was an opinion article, according to CNN.

“The men were each sentenced to three years in prison and fined a total of $30m (£18m),” but the three intend to appeal, according to the BBC.

The BBC reported that the newspaper did attempt to “reach an out-of-court settlement and offered to print a correction,” but the president “turned both down.”

In response to the ruling, El Universo ran a blank front page July 21, CNN reported.

Hat Tip: Editor & Publisher