Slovenia: Necenzurirano manager is “SLAPP”ed with 13 different lawsuits for reporting on fraud of “tax expert”

October 2, 2020, Ljubljana, Slovenia -- News portal Necenzurirano.si’s managers are facing a total of 39 law cases initiated against them due to “defamation” of a famous tax expert who is known to have ties to the government. The Association of Journalists of Slovenia reported that journalists Primus Cirman, Vesna Vukovic and Thomas Modica are targeted for writing about the transactions Rok Senžič that point out fraud and corruption. Online media and smaller independent media outlets such as Necenzurirano are frequently targeted with defamation and libel cases. 

The Slovenian Journalists' Association conducted an analysis of lawsuits and criminal complaints by the media, over the years and then found that 127 proceedings were initiated in the years between 2014 and 2017, of which 76 are civil proceedings worth 3.2 million euros and 46 are criminal proceedings. 

This phenomenon in Slovenia is so widespread that it’s got it’s name SLAPP ( Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) - these are lawsuits that are misused to silence and harass critics by forcing them to use resources (financial, time) to defend themselves against unfounded lawsuits. Those who file SLAPP lawsuits do not go to court for justice. Such lawsuits are intended to intimidate those who disagree with their actions. The misuse of lega remedies is a threat to freedom of expression. 

According to IPI, the reporting of Necenzurirano centres around Rok’s alleged role in an illegal loan worth €450,000 that was given to the SDS from an individual in BiH in 2017. In response, Snežić alleged that untrue elements within these articles seriously have damaged his honour and reputation and filed criminal defamation complaints. If found guilty, the journalists face fines or up to a year in prison.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism finds such actions by businessmen around the world extremely petty and damaging to freedom of expression. We have been following similar cases initiated against prominent Filipino journalist Maria Ressa over the years. CFWIJ urges the authorities to act against such lawsuits which not only target journalism but also wastes the time and resources of the judiciary.