The case stretches back to 2003, when Jerzy Wizerkaniuk, editor-in-chief of the regional Gazeta Koscianska, published an interview with Tadeusz Myler, then an MP for the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD).
Having initially transcribed the interview, the text was sent to Myler for authorisation, but the politician responded negatively, saying that the text “did not reflect the character of his replies.” The politician declined to give his authorisation.
Wizerkaniuk decided to publish sections of the interview regardless, using excerpts faithfully transcribed from a dictaphone.
Press laws dating back to the communist era state that journalists can be fined for publishing interviews not checked and approved by the interviewee.
In September 2008, Wizerkaniuk was fined by the Polish Constitutional Court, with the judge ruling that the 1984 press laws, specifically Article 14, reflected “the right to news that is precise, concrete and not misleading.”
Nevertheless, the Strasbourg court has now contradicted the Polish ruling, awarding Wizerkaniuk 256 euro (1,000 zloty) to cover the 2008 fine, 4,000 euro (15,814 zloty) for intangible losses and 4,119 euro (16,284) for court costs.
Dr Michal Zaremba, a lawyer who championed Mr Wizerkaniuk, believes that the European ruling will have a lasting effect in Poland.
“I think that now, no prosecutor will have the courage to prepare an indictment under the provisions of articles 14 and 49 of the press laws,” he concluded. (nh/jb)