The Tico Times Online

Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, October 16, 2002

JAIL BIRD: U.S. Pedophile Baker stays put in jail. Story below.

Villalobos Issues Statement
Following Monday's confusion over the status of Luis Enrique Villalobos' personal loan operation, money exchange house Ofinter S.A. yesterday morning sent The Tico Times a seven-point paid advertisement for publication in Friday's print edition explaining that Villalobos' operation has been "temporarily suspended for the time necessary to be able to resolve the pending situation before the Tribunals of the Republic," and promising to pay his creditors once the freeze on his assets is lifted.
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October 16

Early Scenic Art Stimulation Project
With the play El Rincón de los Niños, performed by Danzalía Group and music by Miravalles Quintet, playing music by C. Debussy. At 2 p.m., in the Melico Salazar Theater, Av. 2, Ca. Ctrl., San José. Info: 233-5424.

Photography Workshop
Spanish photographer Ciuco Gutiérrez starts workshop today. Runs through Wednesday. Classes are 1–4 p.m., at Spanish Cultural Center, Av. 13, Ca. 31. Info: 257-2919.

Early Stimulation Class
Parents of newborns can check this course and get some hints in your baby’s intellectual development. Tonight at 7 p.m., Plaza Laureles, Escazú. Info: 228-8330, 288-2844.

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Don't miss Friday's print edition for full story.

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C.R. Offers Nigerian Woman Asylum
By Fabian Borges
Tico Times Staff
President Abel Pacheco and Women's Affairs Minister Esmeralda Britton yesterday announced their intention to ask the Nigerian government to pardon Amina Lawal, the 30-year-old divorcee sentenced to death by stoning for having a child out of wedlock.

Speaking at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, Pacheco and Britton said they plan to garner the support of the international community and pressure Nigerian authorities to issue a pardon.

If the appeal fails, they stressed, Costa Rica would offer Lawal and her baby daughter asylum in Costa Rica.

Amina Lawal was sentenced for execution under Islamic law last March, after giving birth to a baby girl more than nine months after getting divorced.

Pregnancy outside marriage constitutes sufficient evidence for a woman to be convicted of adultery, according to some Northern Nigerian states that strictly apply Islamic law. The execution will be delayed until 2004, when Lawal's daughter stops breast-feeding.

Pacheco openly criticized the Islamic court's decision, stating that no religion could justify such a savage crime against humanity.

If the pardon request is not honored, Pacheco claims he will send to Nigeria a group of prominent Costa Rican women -- including Vice-President Lineth Saborío, several Congresswomen and Supreme Court Magistrates -- to help escort Lawal and her daughter safely to Costa Rica.

Several human-rights groups, including Amnesty International have also demanded Lawal be pardoned.

The execution has cast a shadow over this year's Miss World beauty pageant, set to take place in Lagos, Nigeria Dec. 7. Several contestants, including Miss Costa Rica, Shirley Álvarez, are boycotting the pageant (TT, Oct. 11).

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Gringo Pedophile Loses Appeal
By Tim Rogers
Tico Times Staff
Accused U.S. pedophile Joseph Curtis Baker, 51, remains behind bars today, following the Supreme Court's decision Monday to shoot down his appeal of a 24-year prison sentence for "corruption of minors."

Baker, an Oklahoma native, was found guilty last March of sexually exploiting dozens of Costa Rican children (TT, Mar. 15).

The trial, held in a court in the Central Pacific beach town of Quepos, featured the testimony of 11 young girls, who claimed Baker and 56-year-old Boston dentist Arthur Kanev, drugged them before having sex and photographing their naked bodies. Kanev did not show up for the trial and is considered an international fugitive of justice.

The young women swore under oath that they had each been offered ¢200,000 ($580) not to testify in court (TT, Mar. 1). However, they reportedly took the money and testified anyway.

The two men were arrested in Quepos three years ago for their suspected involvement in the sexual abuse of minors and production of child pornography. One month later, they were released on bail.

The accused pedophiles reportedly moved to the Northern Zone town of Tilarán, where local residents say they were not a welcome addition to the community. One area hotel owner claims Kanev threatened his life, then skipped town when his picture first appeared in The Tico Times (TT, Dec. 8, 2000).

The Boston dentist then moved to the Nicoya Peninsula beach town of Junquillal, where he allegedly made connections with the Russian Mafia before disappearing last May. Kanev is being sought by the International Police, and was recently featured on the U.S. television show America's Most Wanted.

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Former Ecuadorian Chancellor:
U.S. Has Forgotten Latin America

Delivering a keynote speech from the Costa Rican Foreign Ministry, former Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Diego Cordovez said yesterday that the U.S. war on terrorism has distracted the northern superpower's attention to countries' needs south of the Rio Grande.

Despite President George W. Bush's initial interest in Latin American issues - expressed during his successful presidential campaign - Cordovez, who served as Foreign Minister from 1988-1992 - said that since last year's terrorist attacks in the U.S., "We have been wiped off the screen of (U.S.) programs and foreign policy," according to a Costa Rican Foreign Ministry press release.

Cordovez, who also served as the U.N.'s Joint Secretary General for Political Affairs during the 1980's, called the U.S.' war on terrorism "almost obsessive," and urged Latin American nations to make greater efforts at strengthening regional integration in order to better compete in the world economy.

The ex-diplomat also discussed the U.N.'s role in the conflict between the U.S. and Iraq, tensions between India and Pakistan, war in the Middle East, and the U.S. attack on Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Foreign Relations, UNESCO and the University of Costa Rica organized the event.

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