Supreme: Koulias discredited Themistocles - The amount of compensation was reduced

The Supreme Court recently upheld a first-instance defamation ruling against MP Zacharias Koulias against former Agriculture Minister Costas Themistokleous, but downplayed the compensation to € 15,000 from the € 25,000 originally awarded.

The case dates back to 2006 when Mr. Koulias's controversial statements were made on a radio show. Themistocles. This was followed by an appeal to the ECtHR of Mr. Koulias against the decision of the Court of Appeal in 2012, a decision of the ECtHR in 2020 that there was a violation of the right to a fair trial and compensation of compensation of € 9,800 paid, as well as an appeal for annulment of his decision. Court of Appeal in 2020 due to the decision of the ECtHR which was rejected.

“It is submitted by the appellant and focused on the argument put forward by his lawyer, that while the defendant did not prove any damage, a fact which the Court finds in various parts of its decision, it nevertheless awards damages without justification and in fact increased by € 25,000 without taking into account the appellant's lack of malice, non-proof of special damages and non-inclusion in the defendant's claim, claim for increased damages “, it is added.

The appellate court “indicates that in order to achieve the civil offense of defamation (slander) according to article 17 (3) of Chapter 148, in addition to the determination of defamatory content, the proof of special damage by the plaintiff, which arose out of malice. Given, as he claims, that no special damage was proven, then no compensation or symbolic compensation of € 1 should be awarded “.

The Supreme Court notes in its decision, inter alia, that it was a finding of the Court of First Instance that he was not satisfied “Or that the plaintiff's professional career has been affected by the statements in question and that the defendant's attitude led him to retire to Kakopetria ». “Notwithstanding the above, I note that even in 2006 when the plaintiff made the statements he was of advanced age, very close to retirement age and his prospects for employment at that age were, in combination with his professional experience, quite limited It's also added that the defendant's claim that until the date of the trial he felt disgust and coldness on the part of ordinary people was described as excessive as he put it & # 8220; it is hard to believe that a person as intelligent and reasonable as the plaintiff would run for President of the Republic, about a year and a half after the disputed statements, while he felt the disgust and coldness of the people & # 8221; ».

According to the Supreme Court, the Court of First Instance “also held that the appellant's interference in the radio broadcast, & # 8220; persons associated with the party space of DISY, who, according to his view, always favored the positions of Turkey in relation to our national issue & # 8221; This is because his statements were part of a more general statement that aimed to demonstrate the difficulty of changing the attitude of the Turks towards our national issue, given the attitude of some politicians. “

“What was left was that” despite the fact that the reference made to the plaintiff was small, it affected his moral condition. The plaintiff is presented as an indecent person, who, motivated by his financial interest, challenged the correctness of the term & # 8220; pseudo-state & # 8221; “, it is noted.

” The Court of First Instance concluded that: & # 8220; The burden was on the plaintiff's shoulders to prove the defendant's alleged malice and/or the motives that prompted him to make the specific statements. In this case, he failed to prove any malice or bad faith on the part of the defendant & # 8221; ».

Of course, the Supreme Court continues in its decision, “as stated above, the disputed statements did not prevent or prevent the defendant from coming down two years later, as a presidential candidate in the 2008 Presidential Elections”.

“But it does not stop “because of their content to attribute to him a moral decay and a dishonesty, not tolerated by the average rational person”, it is decided.

Therefore, it is stated, “we can not accept what the appellant's lawyer claims about the existence of no objection against the defendant and that the Court of First Instance did not find such a thing. In essence, the appellant alleged that the plaintiff had acted in the manner attributed to him as a result of bribery. “

of the defendant “, is added.

According to the Supreme, “every person, regardless of age or position, has the right and the requirement to have respect for his private and political life and his dignity not to fall north into the hands and statements of anyone. The right to critique and public opinion should not be allowed to go beyond the limits of the freedom and personality of others. “

“, however, its performance is a sign of culture and respect”, he notes. of CYP 6,000, CYP9,000 and € 12,000 respectively.

“According to the data of the present case, the fourth ground of appeal is partially successful, while the rest are rejected”, it is reported. “We consider, in the light of our previous reports, that the amount of € 15,000 is a fair and reasonable compensation and the amount awarded is reduced accordingly”, the Supreme Court decides in its decision.

Source: KYPE

Source: politis.com.cy

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