OSCE unhappy with Top Channel fine

TIRANA, June 29 – The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Tuesday said it considered as “disproportionately high” a 400,000 euro fine imposed on an Albanian television station that aired secretly filmed video of government officials asking a job applicant to take her clothes off.
OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic expressed concern over libel damages that a national broadcaster in Albania has been ordered to pay to a politician, saying the fine was disproportionately high.
In a letter to Albanian Foreign Minister Ilir Meta and Justice Minister Bujar Nishani, she emphasized that “moral damages awarded should be proportionate to the actual harm and the economic situation of the media or journalist concerned and should not lead to a ‘chilling’ effect on the media”
The Vienna-based OSCE said that the court verdict on Top Channel TV station finding it liable for damages showing Culture, Youth, Tourism and Sports Minister Ylli Pango asking a woman to strip to see whether she would be good for the job, should not lead to a ‘chilling effect on the media’ whose duty is “to inform citizens about developments which are in the public interest…. intended to shed light on the professional behavior of a public official and his alleged abuse of public positions.” Pango was fired immediately. He sued the station.
“The right to privacy has to be balanced against the media’s duty to inform citizens about developments which are in the public interest,” Mijatovic said.
“The media’s watchdog role in any true democratic society demands investigative journalism, including the scrutiny of the professional and ethical conduct of government officials. The broadcaster’s reporting aimed exactly at that – it intended to shed light on the professional behavior of a public official and his alleged abuse of public positions.”
International media organizations also condemned “the unprecedented damages award.”
Albania’s fledgling independent press frequently complains of politically motivated attacks.