Defamation lawsuits have increased in backdrop of govt’s pending anti-libel package

Tirana Times
By Tirana Times February 3, 2020 11:10

Defamation lawsuits have increased in backdrop of govt’s pending anti-libel package

Story Highlights

  • During the last two years, about 35 lawsuits have been filed primarily by Prime Minister Edi Rama but also other majority members against opposition representatives under this subject, including two lawsuits against one journalist and one civil society activist.

Related Articles

TIRANA, Feb. 2 - The heated debate in the country over the government's anti-defamation package that has been criticized by the community of journalists and international institutions has continued, as well as a massive wave of defamation and damages lawsuits in court.  

During the last two years, about 35 lawsuits have been filed primarily by Prime Minister Edi Rama but also other majority members against opposition representatives under this subject, including two lawsuits against one journalist and one civil society activist.  

The opposition’s Democratic Party, meanwhile, has not preferred to take its claims of defamation against the ruling majority to court.  

Lawyer Ledio Braho, who is following several cases with opposition representatives, finds the number of lawsuits at such a high political level unprecedented.

“For the first time in court, lawsuits are filed and lawsuits are initiated between the PM and the opposition leader or the PM and the former PM, or between the PM and the deputies. The political struggle has passed from parliament to court doors. Berisha himself, when he was prime minister, did not initiate any court proceedings. It was Sali Berisha's children who filed suit. They do not have to show tolerance at the PM’s level, because they are private persons. And now we have to bear in mind that there are many unfounded allegations against DP leader Lulzim Basha, but he has never initiated any court cases or defamation lawsuits for the majority,” said Braho, lawyer for several opposition cases in the court.

The Democratic government decriminalized defamation and insult eight years ago while the then PM Sali Berisha is currently the most indicted of his successor, Edi Rama, for libel in his Facebook posts.  

Rama lately also sued Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj for libel.  

Haradinaj publicly called this a shameless lawsuit and reiterated allegations that Rama supported the partition of Kosovo in the past.  

In a public reaction, Rama said the indictment was the only way to defend his dignity from the allegations.

Berisha has linked the high number of Rama's lawsuits to the court over the past two years, with the pressure the chief of government exerts on judges, as he says, at a time when they expect to be subjected to the justice reform’s vetting process.  

“Edi Rama has chosen the way of lawsuits now that he has taken over justice and can order the system to make decisions as he pleases,” he said.  

Rama himself, when defending the anti-libel package in parliament at the end of last year’s December, appeared determined to pursue indictment and damages lawsuits.

“I will continue with these in court. 60 issues have been made so far, they can go up to 600, even 6000, it depends on how much I will stay in power, but I won’t stop,” he said.  

Lawyer Dorjan Matlija says there is a practice in the European Court of Human Rights, applied in several cases, according to which politicians enjoy less protection than officials and ordinary citizens against allegations of defamation and insults.  

It is stated in this practice that as far as public figures are concerned, the court has consistently held that when private individuals become part of the public sphere they are open to public debate and must therefore show a greater degree of tolerance for criticism. In cases involving defamation against politicians, for example, the basis of the court's reasoning always rests on the finding that the limits of acceptable criticism are broader in relation to politicians.  

Matlija says the courts are favoring Prime Minister Edi Rama by considering him an official with higher protection than politicians.

“In fact, Rama is not only a Prime Minister. He has some qualities. He is also the chairman of one of the largest parties in the country. And of course in these cases, when a person enjoys certain qualities, the most important quality for the court to consider is the fact that he is not just a politician, but the most influential politician in Albania,” said Matlija.

While dozens of trials are in the process, some others have ended and opposition representatives such as Lulzim Basha, Sali Berisha, Jorida Tabaku, Albana Vokshi, etc have been defeated.

Lawyer Ledio Braho says the courts have held double standards and cites two examples when senior officials and politicians used background information in their indictments, referring to the media.

“In the case of a lawsuit two years ago between Erjon Velia and then-President Bujar Nishani, Nishani was a plaintiff and Veliaj was a defendant. What saved Erjon Veliaj was the fact that he was being accused of derived information from the media. The court rejected Bujar Nishani's lawsuit, precisely through this argument. Meanwhile, in another case where the plaintiff was Erjon Veliaj and the former DP MP Albana Vokshi was the defendant, the same argument that all information was obtained from the media was used but the court forced Albana Vokshi to refute the statements and said that she should have confirmed the information. So the same standard was not maintained,” said Braho.

Director of the Institute for Media, Culture and Democracy Jonila Godole sees this high flow of litigation against the opposition as a government effort to limit the scope of freedom of expression.

The Voice of America addressed a lawyer defending Prime Minister Edi Rama in a significant portion of the trials with opposition representatives, Enkelejda Mucaj, but also Prime Minister Edi Rama's press office, for a position on the high level of his lawsuits against political opponents, but received no response.

 

Tirana Times
By Tirana Times February 3, 2020 11:10