28 May 2009

Alert

Prime minister launches new lawsuit against news media, withdraws another


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Guardian, News agency

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(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders deplores the libel suit that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has brought against the London-based "Guardian" newspaper. The press freedom organisation regards the lawsuit as all the more absurd as Maliki has just withdrawn a similar libel action against Kitabat, an Iraqi news website based in Germany.

Maliki is demanding US$1 million in damages from the "Guardian" for describing his government as "authoritarian" in an article. He initially called for the closure of the newspaper's bureau in Baghdad.

A Baghdad court ordered Kitabat to pay 1 billion dinars (630,000 euros) in damages on 18 May 2009 as a result of a lawsuit brought forward by the prime minister over a January article by reporter Ali Hussein accusing his chief of staff of nepotism.

Maliki finally withdrew his action against Kitabat on 28 May 2009. Reporters Without Borders welcomes this decision as the award for damages threatened the website's ability to continue operating.

Source

Reporters Without Borders
47, rue Vivienne
75002 Paris
France
rsf (@) rsf.org
Phone: +33 1 44 83 84 84
Fax: +33 1 45 23 11 51
 

Updates to this story

IFJ and ARTICLE 19 pledge support for UK "Guardian" newspaper in defamation case 26 January 2010 Iraqi court fines "Guardian" newspaper for defaming prime minister 11 November 2009

Iraq

Legislative elections turn into nightmare for independent and opposition journalists 11 March 2010 Democracy and free expression under threat in Iraqi Kurdistan 1 March 2010 Journalist kidnapped 18 February 2010 Independent journalists harassed, attacked in Kurdistan election run-up 17 February 2010 US military releases Reuters photographer after 17 months in detention 11 February 2010


 
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