Monitoring report: Defamation laws still concern for Europe media
January 30th, 2018
Bittersweet end for Greek journalist who won libel trial but lost job Crete court upholds media's right to scrutinise activities of public officials
‘Frozen cases’ aim to chill investigative reporting in Greece Powerful libel plaintiffs employ procedural tactic to promote self-censorship, journalists say
IPI concerned by proposed Italian ‘cyber bullying’ measure Changes introduced by Chamber of Deputies would compel removal of wide range of content without judicial oversight
Blog: Charlie Hebdo insult case highlights weaknesses of Italian defamation law Standards of taste aside, charges brought by earthquake-hit town raise issues for freedom of expression
A lawyer for the Italian town of Amatrice, where nearly 300 people died in an earthquake in August, announced last week that the town would file criminal defamation charges against the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Earlier this month the magazine “commented” on the earthquake with two cartoons, the first of which crudely depicted victims as different types of pasta. The second, in response to understandable outrage over the first cartoon, read: “Italians, it’s not Charlie Hebdo who built your houses, it’s the mafia!”
Greek journalist’s libel conviction overturned on appeal Encouraging move should be followed up by repeal of criminal libel laws, IPI says
The International Press Institute (IPI) today welcomed an appeals court ruling overturning the criminal conviction of a prominent Greek investigative journalist for defamation.A three-judge panel of the Athens Court of Appeal on Monday unanimously threw out the conviction of Kostas Vaxevanis, editor of the investigative magazine HotDoc. A lower court sentenced him to 26 months in prison for defamation in March 2015.
