Loose tongues banned in Colombian town

Bad-mouthing your neighbours can land you in jail in one Colombian town after the mayor banned gossip.

Ignacio Jimenez, mayor of Icononzo, southwest of Bogota, told El Tiempo newspaper he decreed the ban because loose tongues could cost lives in Colombia, which is in the grip of a guerrilla war involving Marxist rebels and far-right paramilitary outlaws.

Justifying his decree, the mayor said at least eight people were in the local prison accused "purely by gossip" of being members of the outlawed, Marxist-inspired Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.