March 26, 2019, France -- An independent French journalist, Inès Léraud, was prosecuted for defamation by a business tycoon over her reportage criticizing illegal practices of his enterprise, Chéritel group. The charges were dropped. The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns such attempts that are aimed to intimidate women journalists. 

According to Inès’ article, Cheritel, which is a major fruit and vegetable wholesaler, was tried and accused by a Bulgarian company for employees’ rights in 2018 of violating the rights of its workers. Moreover, an interview of the former employees of the group raised questions about its managerial practices. 

Cheritel group is a major local wholesaler that not only distributes but also cuts, processes, packages and ships fruits and vegetables. The company was managed by Jean Cheritel. 

It was written that some of the work done by the group, for instance, onion-cutting could not be done all day so the employers called in Bulgarian workers who would not complain. However, the workers would also not be sent home and most of them had to finance their trip to France. 

Later, an investigation was launched against the company that revealed the exploitation of the employees and was reported by Inès. She was charged for defaming Jean Cheritel, but he dropped the charges on January 22, 2021. 

Across Europe, in countries such as France, Italy, Germany, Albania, Poland, Malta and Croatia, it is common for prominent business leaders and politicians to threaten journalists and media workers with costly legal processes in an attempt to impede their work and silence journalism. 

However, CFWIJ denounces the actions that force journalists or attempts to self-censor them.