The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), today welcomed a decision by Moldova’s Supreme Court tossing rulings in a defamation lawsuit against a Chisinau-based newspaper.

The court on July 11 quashed an Aug. 1, 2011 ruling by the Central Court of Chisinau against investigative weekly Ziarul de Garda, as well as a subsequent court decision requiring the publication to pay 30,000 euros to two prosecutors who sued the newspaper.

Both Ziarul de Garda and SEEMO previously warned that the excessive fine imperilled the publication’s existence.

The case began Feb. 10, 2011, when Ziarul de Garda published a story on two district prosecutors allegedly involved in corruption. The Centre for Combating Economic Crime and Corruption (CCECC) investigated the case, but charges ultimately were not pursued. The two prosecutors sued the paper and demanded compensation for moral damage.

Ziarul de Garda’s director, Alina Radu, and the magazine’s staff welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision. Radu told SEEMO: “The decision means a lot for us: if the decision of the first court would have been upheld, the newspaper would have gone bankrupt and would have had to be closed.”

She continued: “The decision shows that the law can work properly in Moldova that prosecutors as well as other public officials should accept criticism, and that journalists should keep digging on corruption scams.”

The Chisinau-based Independent Journalism Center (IJC) praised the court decision and encouraged Moldovan courts to apply European standards for defamation – especially provisions on freedom of expression.

SEEMO Secretary General Oliver Vujovic said: “I am very happy that the Supreme Court ruled in favour of press freedom and hope that in the future defamation and libel will be addressed according to international standards.”