OSCE ambassador concerned about fines in libel case against Nikolaidis and Monitor

PODGORICA, 10 September 2009 - Ambassador Paraschiva Badescu, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, expressed concern today over the decision by the Supreme Court to confirm the Podgorica Higher Court's decision of April 2008, in the libel case against the weekly Monitor and its journalist Andrej Nikolaidis.

The decision reached by the Higher Court in Podgorica ordered Monitor and Nikolaidis to pay a fine of 12,000 euros for libelling Serbian film director Emir Kusturica in an article, "The Executioner's Apprentice", published in 2004.

"In line with international standards, we would like to emphasize that any financial penalties should be proportionate, taking into account any self-regulatory or non-pecuniary remedies, and refer to demonstrable damages only, not punitive damages," said Badescu.