OSCE Representative welcomes court decision in Slovakia dismissing defamation charges against newspaper
VIENNA, 21 January 2015 – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović said today that Monday’s court decision to dismiss defamation charges against the daily newspaper Nový Čas contributes to media freedom and upholds the right of journalists to report on matters of public interest.
In June 2011, Nový Čas published photos which showed the members of the judiciary in a bar, allegedly mimicking the events in which a person killed a family in 2010.
Several members of the Slovak judiciary sued the newspaper for defamation demanding public apologies and high damage awards.
In Monday’s ruling, the Bratislava District Court II dismissed charges by a plaintiff, Supreme Court Judge Štefan Michálik, who demanded €100,000 from the newspaper claiming that the photos published by Nový Čas were fabricated. In the court hearing, experts deemed the video material was authentic.
In a previous ruling on 16 June 2014, the newspaper was ordered to publish an apology to another one of the plaintiffs. Mijatović criticized that decision as restricting reporting on matters of public interest.
The statement of the Representative on the court ruling in June 2014 can be found at //www.osce.org/fom/120131
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. She provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on facebook.com/osce.rfom.