20 March 2007
CRIMINAL DEFAMATION CASES WORLDWIDE POSE SERIOUS THREAT TO FREE EXPRESSION
A Swiss national caught defacing pictures of Thailand's King could be jailed for a long time in just one of many recent defamation cases around the world involving criminal law, free expression organisations report.
A long-time resident of the northern city of Chiang Mai, Thailand, Oliver Rudolf Jufer, was arrested and detained after smearing black paint on five posters of King Bhumibol Adulhadej last December, reports the Southeast Asia Press Alliance (SEAPA). This month, Jufer pleaded guilty to insulting the king and defacing public property. Thailand's "lèse majesté" law makes it a crime to insult or belittle the monarchy, and carries a prison term of three to 15 years. Jufer's lawyer expects a minimum sentence of seven and a half years in a verdict expected on 29 March.
In Mali, criminal defamation convictions were handed down in the first week of March against two journalists for a December 2006 story about a high-ranking government minister's attempt to stop the wedding of a woman, promised to him in marriage, to another man. Director Diaby Makoro Camara and editor Oumar Bouaré of the private monthly "Kabako" were sentenced to four-month suspended terms, fined 50,000 CFA Francs (US$100), and ordered to publish the court decision, reports the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). They are planning to appeal.
On 8 March in Senegal, two journalists were charged for a June 2006 story on a consumer complaint against a car dealership allegedly selling defective vehicles, reports CPJ. Newspaper director Jean Meïssa Diop and reporter Faydy Dramé of the daily newspaper "Walf Grand-Place" were each sentenced to six-month suspended prison terms and 10 million CFA Francs (US$21,000) in damages, said CPJ. They are free awaiting an appeal.
In a pending criminal defamation suit also in Senegal, presidential lawyer Ousmane Sèye is expected to request 500 million CFA Francs (US$1m) in damages against director Mamadou Biaye and reporter Ndiaga Ndiaye of the private daily "Le Quotidien" over an 8 March article critical of Sèye, added CPJ.
In Kazakhstan, a journalist found guilty of "distributing false information" in an article critical of a judge was fined and ordered not to leave the country, says Adil Soz. On 12 March, Galina Vybornova, a journalist for "Express K" newspaper, was fined 218,400 Tenge (US$1,700) for allegedly distributing false information aimed at insulting the honour and dignity of Judge Bolat Berikov, despite producing photographs and documents to verify her report. The criminal charges were based on an 18 January article on "bandits triumphing", which reported that the judge was caught on tape in a sauna with a criminal.
And in the Philippines, five journalists were forced to post bail on 8 March, after warrants were issued for their arrest over a 100 million Peso (US$2.06m) libel suit, reports the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR). Luis "Chavit" Singson, governor of Ilocos Sur, north of Manila, filed the libel suit in 2005 over an issue of the online magazine "Newsbreak", which contained stories about his assets and his influence on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's administration. He is now a senatorial candidate in the May elections.
Following the "Newsbreak" incident, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is once again calling for the Philippines to decriminalise its libel laws. "As they stand, these libel laws are effectively a means for the government to intimidate and censor the media and to silence dissent," said IFJ president Christopher Warren.
Visit these sites:
- SEAPA: http://www.seapabkk.org/
- CPJ: http://www.cpj.org/
- IFEX (Kazakhstan): http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/81749/
- IFEX (Philippines): http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/81617/
- IFJ: http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?index=4716&Language=EN
(Image of Oliver Rudolf Jufer courtesy of www.thaiphotoblogs.com)
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