OSCE and RSF urge decriminalization of libel

PARIS, 25 November 2003 - Criminal libel and insult laws have become a major impediment to press freedom in many OSCE states, warned the Organization's Representative on Freedom of the Media, Freimut Duve, and the media NGO Reporters sans frontieres (RSF).

"Such laws often force journalists to exercise self-censorship and to avoid investigating cases of corruption for fear of being prosecuted for libel," Duve said.

"In several OSCE participating States reporters are serving prison sentences or are fined under criminal defamation provisions. This is absolutely intolerable in a democracy."

Mr Duve was addressing experts, lawyers and victims of criminal libel prosecution at a meeting in Paris, organized by his Office and RSF, which discussed efforts to decriminalize defamation in the OSCE region.

"Whenever I raise a case to the East of Vienna, I am immediately reminded that criminal libel exists to the West and that the fact that it is not often utilised is irrelevant," Mr Duve said.

Participants in the meeting agreed on a set of recommendations to governments, parliaments and judicial bodies on the abolition of criminal libel.

"It is urgent that we do something so that libel is not used to silence the media," RSF Secretary General Robert Menard said.

"We have to decriminalize defamation so that no journalist is ever again sentenced to jail. And once and for all we simply have to get rid of insult laws that protect public officials. This is an archaic norm that has no place in a modern democracy."