A lack of caps on damages has made civil defamation lawsuits in Slovakia a “cash cow” for plaintiffs, attendees were told at a public roundtable discussion on Tuesday organised by the International Press Institute’s (IPI) Slovak National Committee. Arpad Soltesz, a Slovak journalist who has been a defendant in both criminal and civil defamation cases, […]

The International Press Institute (IPI) and the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) today expressed optimism about the possibility of defamation reform in Slovenia following statements of good will from key Slovenian officials. Justice Minister Goran Klemenčič, a former anti-corruption official, told a joint IPI/SEEMO delegation that he was “personally against” the application of criminal […]

In an open letter to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the International Press Institute (IPI) appealed for respect of international press freedom standards in the case of 2014 IPI World Press Freedom Hero Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, who is set to appear before Tehran’s Revolutionary Court on Nov. 29 on charges of ‘propaganda against the state’. The charges […]

The International Press Institute (IPI) and the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) today welcomed support from key Croatian parliamentarians for the repeal of the country’s criminal defamation laws. Meeting with a joint IPI/SEEMO delegation in Zagreb, Mladen Novak, chair of the parliamentary Committee on Information, Computerisation and the Media, called criminal defamation laws “unacceptable” […]