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Judge Says US-Based Reporter Defamed Haiti's Prime Minister

MIAMI (AP) — A federal judge in Miami says a Haitian-American journalist has defamed Haiti's prime minister.

Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe and a South Florida businessman sued Leo Joseph in September over his reporting for the New York-based Haiti-Observateur on the sale of a telecommunications company acquired by the Haitian government.

In a Feb. 6 ruling, U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro said she agreed that Joseph had published false and malicious reports about Lamothe's role in the sale of Haitel.

Ungaro also ordered Joseph to never again write about Lamothe or the businessman in their professional, personal or political lives.

Joseph said early Tuesday that he had not been notified about Ungaro's ruling. He also said he stood by his reporting on the sale of Haitel.

Haiti's government acquired the telecom last year.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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