REPORTS
Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspapers protests the campaign of persecution’ against the free press
On December 29, 2021, the Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspapers issued a statement calling for an end to “the campaign of persecution of journalists and the media.”
“The Board of Directors of J.U.A.D.N is protesting once again the phenomenon of business groups filing lawsuits against journalists and the media with the obvious aim of curtailing the free press. The phenomenon is taking on alarming proportions in our country, while it is also a major concern of both the European and the International Federation of Journalists.”
WRE Group, a renewable energy producer, has filed a lawsuit against the journalist and union member Tassos Sarantis, as well as against the cooperative newspaper Efimerida ton Syntakton in which he works.
The company is asking for 225,000 euros in damages and a 12 month provisional detention for the journalist. The report in question concerned a barrage of lawsuits that the company has launched against two media outlets in Laconia, the Municipal Council of Monemvasia and a variety of local organisations and collectives.
“J.U.A.D.N defends the right of journalists to investigate and publish the results of their reporting. Attempts to intimidate, or to morally and financially disable the operation of the free press cannot be tolerated,” the announcement concludes.
Law 1178/81 regulates the basic legal framework of lawsuits against journalists and the media (Government Gazette AD187/16.7.1981 – On civil liability of the press and other provisions). The Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspapers has called for its repeal, arguing that the law has created the legal basis for a lawsuit industry whose sole purpose is to silence the press and journalists. These lawsuits, they state, are essentially aimed at obstructing investigative journalism and at threatening the financial survival of the media and journalists.
According to paragraph 1, Article 1 of law 1178/81, upon conviction the accused is obliged to pay full monetary compensation for material and non-material damages for a claim that affected the reputation and good name of a person provided that the claim was made with intent, fault or culpable ignorance by the author of the article or, if unknown, the publisher or the director of the media. According to paragraph 5, Article 1 of the same law, the wronged person must also, before filing a lawsuit, contact the author of the material in question, or if unknown, the publisher or editor, calling on them to print a retraction.
These provisions allow politicians, powerful individuals and large corporations to sue media outlets and journalists, demanding huge sums of money as compensation, which is not really aimed at compensating damages, but at intimidating reporters and the media. With its original provisions passed 40 years ago, this law does not contain provisions to protect against Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation, so-called SLAPPs, which aim to intimidate and silence critical voices.
The failure to adopt an effective legal framework for dealing with SLAPP lawsuits effectively leaves the media, journalists and organisations vulnerable to abusive legal attacks by powerful politicians or large multinationals who have the financial means to litigate repeatedly against financially weaker media and journalists in order to silence them. This phenomenon ultimately harms the freedom of the press, which is protected by Article 14 of the Constitution.
As such, the state must take immediate measures to protect against these abusive legal attacks. In fact, the need to adopt such measures is supported by both the European Commission and the European Parliament. The Commission is currently preparing a proposal for a directive to “protect journalists and human rights defenders in strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP).”
In November 2021, the European Parliament also voted in favour of a report calling for new rules within the EU, “to counteract the threat that Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) pose to journalists, NGOs and civil society in Europe.” SLAPPs, they say, are frivolous legal actions based on exaggerated and often abusive claims, aiming to intimidate and professionally discredit their targets, with the ultimate objective of blackmailing and silencing them. Among the measures proposed by the European Parliament is the establishment of rules on early dismissal by the courts so that abusive lawsuits can be stopped quickly based on objective criteria; the claimant should face sanctions if they fail to justify in what way their action is not abusive.
In a state that adheres to the rule of law, both individual rights and the freedom of the press are protected. Journalists have the right to practice their work freely and independently, without censorship or influence.
Despite the guarantee of the freedom of the press by Article 14 of the Constitution, the Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspapers alleges that business groups are attempting to curtail the free press through frequent litigation against independent journalism, exemplified in the case of this lawsuit filed against Tassos Sarantis and the Efimerida ton Syntakton, where he works. They call for the immediate adoption of measures to protect journalists, the media and members of civil society from abusive legal attacks against them, as advocated by the European Commission and the European Parliament.
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