14 Oct 11 | Index Index, minipost, News and features
A Russian property developer who was punched during a talkshow, is suing for libel in England after his assailant, fellow Russian tycoon Alexander Lebedev said he deserved the beating. Sergei Polonsky is suing Lebedev, owner of the Independent and London Evening Standard for defamation following their altercation in September. Lebedev told the BBC that Polonsky had insulted him for 90 minutes. Criminal proceedings for assault have begun in Russia.
12 Oct 11 | Index Index, minipost
An Angolan journalist is facing a year in prison for libel. William Tonet, editor of the newspaper Folha 8, was accused of libel after he published allegations of corruption among the country’s military elite. Tonet accused three generals of the Angolan Armed Forces of self-enrichment and power abuse in a 2008 news article. In a court ruling on Monday, the journalist was given five days to pay 10 million kwanzas (€77,000) in damages, or face a year in prison. The journalist’s lawyer, David Mendes, said the government of Angolan President, Jose dos Santos wants to imprison William Tonet.
12 Oct 11 | Index Index, minipost
An appeals court in Armenia has upheld a libel ruling against a daily newspaper. The family of former President Robert Kocharian, took the newspaper Zhamanak to court in December, following its publication of a series of articles, linking Kocharian’s wife, Bella, with major trade in medicines and claiming that their older son, Sedrak, owns diamond mines in India, and had defrauded an Armenian businessman. The pro-opposition newspaper was ordered to pay 3m drams ($8,000) in damages.
06 Oct 11 | News and features
Defamation cases should be mediated, and if they are not, they should be the subject of an early neutral evaluation by a High Court Judge, say Index on Censorship and English PEN in their report on defamation procedure.
Funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the Alternative Libel Project’s first report published on 6 October also recommends that:
• judges must use stricter case management;
• litigants should be able to make a stand alone application to determine the meaning of the allegations in question; and
• a costs regime must be introduced to redress the inequality of arms between the parties.
John Kampfner, Chief Executive of Index on Censorship said:
Defamation procedure needs to change so the balance between freedom of expression and reputation is not affected by the relative resources of litigants but by the strength of their claims. The recommendations we have made will not only result in many more cases being resolved very early on, they will ensure that those cases that do go to trial in the High Court are dealt with more efficiently.
The report is a preliminary one and Index on Censorship and English PEN are inviting views on their proposals before the 18 November. To comment, please e-mail Helen Anthony at helen[@]englishpen.org.
The Alternative Libel Project Preliminary Report October 2011
