"Guardian" skazany za zniesławienie premiera Iraku
mm, PAP
2009-11-11, ostatnia aktualizacja 2009-11-11 08:56
Brytyjski dziennik "Guardian" został skazany przez iracki sąd na wypłatę odszkodowania
premierowi Iraku Nuriemu al-Malikiemu. Powód? Zniesławienie.
Sąd, który rozpatrywał pozew o zniesławienie złożony przez irackie służby wywiadowcze, nakazał
gazecie wypłatę odszkodowania wysokości 100 mln dinarów (58 tys. euro).
Sprawa dotyczyła artykułu autorstwa irackiego dziennikarza, opublikowanego w kwietniu tego
roku. Zacytował on opinię niewymienionych z nazwiska przedstawicieli irackich służb
wywiadowczych, że Maliki rządzi Irakiem w sposób autorytarny.
"Wolność słowa?"
- Jestem bardzo zaniepokojony informacją o dzisiejszej decyzji sądu. Wolność słowa odgrywa
kluczową rolę we wszystkich demokracjach - powiedział dziennikowi "Guardian" brytyjski minister
spraw zagranicznych David Miliband.
Dziennik napisał, że odwoła się od wyroku, który określił jako kolejny cios przeciwko wolności
mediów w Iraku.
y
ródło:
http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/Wiadomosci/1,80277,7242990,_Guardian__skazany_za_znieslawienie_
premiera_Iraku.html
dostęp: 11.11.2009 / 11:54:02
Iraqi court rules Guardian defamed Nouri al-Maliki
Court orders Guardian to pay prime minister damages over article that quoted allegations of
increasing authoritarianism
Martin Chulov in Baghdad and Julian Borger
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 10 November 2009 19.30 GMT
An Iraqi court has ordered the Guardian to pay Nouri al-Maliki damages of 100m dinar (Ł52,000)
after supporting a complaint by the Iraqi prime minister's intelligence service that he had been
defamed by a Guardian story in April describing him as increasingly autocratic.
The ruling ignored testimony by three expert witnesses from the Iraqi journalists' union summoned
by the court, who all said that the article was neither defamatory nor insulting and argued that no
damages were warranted.
The Guardian said it would appeal against the verdict, first through Iraqi appeals courts and then the
federal court. The judgment was heavily criticised tonight as a further blow against the freedom of
Iraq's already embattled news media.
The foreign secretary, David Miliband, said: "I was very concerned to hear reports of today's court
ruling. Media freedom is vital in any democracy. If the case goes to appeal, I ask the Iraqi
authorities to ensure that their courts, which are independent, follow due process in accordance with
the Iraqi constitution."
Alan Rusbridger, editor of the Guardian, said: "This is a dismaying development. Prime minister
Maliki is trying to construct a new, free Iraq. Freedom means little without free speech  and means
even less if a head of state tries to use the law of libel to punish criticism or dissent. We will
vigorously contest this judgment."
The article in question, by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, an award-winning staff correspondent for the
Guardian, quoted three unnamed members of the Iraqi national intelligence service who claimed
that the prime minister was beginning to run Iraqi affairs with an authoritarian hand.
After expert witnesses testified against the award of damages, the court heard evidence from a new,
five-member panel who argued that Iraqi publishing law did not allow foreigners to publish articles
critical of the prime minister or president, or to interfere in Iraqi internal affairs. The advice
appeared to overlook the fact that Abdul-Ahad is an Iraqi citizen.
Two of the new panel were identified as journalists. One of them, Salah Najim al-Maliki, no
relation to the prime minister, is the host of a legal affairs programme on the government-run,
staunchly partisan al-Iraqia television channel.
Attempts to identify the other alleged journalist on the panel, Hussein al-Arkabi, were tonight
unsuccessful. Of 12 Iraqi media outlets contacted in Baghdad, none recognised his name. The other
three panel members were identified as lawyers.
Maliki has repeatedly portrayed press freedoms as essential to nation-building efforts in Iraq's
young democracy.
However, Iraqi officials have become increasingly sensitive to scrutiny of their achievements in the
leadup to a general election, scheduled for 21 January.
Journalists covering routine violence in Iraq have reported being assaulted by security officials in
recent weeks, in the wake of two huge bombings since early August that destroyed three
government ministries and the Baghdad governorate, calling the effectiveness of government
security forces into question.
Rohan Jayasekera, associate editor of Index on Censorship, who is conducting a study of access to
information in the runup to Iraq's elections, said: "It's a shame that Maliki has allowed the Iraqi
security services to use his name in this way.
"It's a kind of abuse of the prime minister's office. It sends a worrying message to those who hoped
for better treatment of the media in Iraq.
"Maliki frequently says that the only justification for silencing the media is if it provokes
sectarianism, enmity and hatred. We'd agree with the Iraqi journalists' union and say the [Guardian]
article doesn't do that at all."
Muaed al-Lami, dean of the Iraqi Union of Journalists, who contributed to the court submission in
support of the Guardian, said: "I feel very upset about this.
"I will help with an appeal because we found there was no insult to the prime minister, or
defamation."
The Guardian article at the heart of the case  "After six years of Saddam Hussein, Nouri al-Maliki
tightens his grip on Iraq"  was published on 31 April, the day the Iraqi prime minister arrived in
London seeking British investment.
It quoted three unnamed Iraqi intelligence officers saying the Iraqi government was close to the
United States and that officials attached to the Iraqi national intelligence service (Inis) had been
ordered to monitor intelligence and military activities inside Iraq.
Inis is considered the government's most powerful spy organisation, one of 18 to have risen from
the ashes of Saddam's dreaded Mukhabarat. Although remaining pervasive in everyday life, their
reputation remains far better among ordinary Iraqis than their predecessor, and are generally seen as
reasonably effective tools in infiltrating extremist networks.
y
ródło: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/10/guardian-nour-al-maliki-iraq
dostęp: 11.11.2009 / 11:57:38