An unprecedented penalty for TVP Channel. They have no choice but to pay hundreds of thousands of zlotys.
Lyudmyla Kozlovska has announced the surprising piece of information. The court has issued
a decision in the case involving the Open Dialogue Foundation, which brought a lawsuit
against Polish Television [i.e. TVP]. The justice finally prevailed, after four years of court
proceedings. TVP will have to apologize to the plaintiff, but this is not the end of the case.
They will pay a penalty of PLN 200 thousand for their allegations.
TVP is now in trouble. The court has reached a decision
Lyudmyla Kozlovska, President of the Open Dialogue Foundation, informed the media that a
judgment has already been passed in the case against TVP. The case concerned the
dissemination of false information about the Foundation, which was allegedly done by TVP
several years ago.
“On 13 June 2023, the District Court in Warsaw ordered TVP to apologise us for the violation
of personal rights and pay damages for disseminating false information about the Open
Dialog Foundation, Lyudmyla Kozlovska, Bartosz Kramek and Silk Road Biuro Analiz i
Informacji [i.e. the company managed by Bartosz Kramek — ed.]. This has been an
unprecedented judgment issued in the case involving massive rights violations resulting
from a smear campaign initiated by Polish Television. Six years after the first libel was
made, and following a four-year proceedings, the Law and Justice propaganda machine
has been obligated to apologize for their lies and pay damages,” — Lyudmyla Kozlovska
wrote.
The woman described in detail how the activities of the Open Dialogue Foundation were
presented on TVP. She pointed out that she realized what could have prompted the public
broadcaster to act in such a manner. Interestingly, in her opinion, the lies were
disseminated intentionally.
“The actual reason for the persecution by the Polish authorities was our criticism of the
government and our defence of independent courts in Poland in the international arena,” –
the activist stressed. The lawsuit concerned 37 items of material aired on TVP.
Kozlovska revealed that the court has already made a decision in the case. “Therefore, this
court ruling demanding compensation and an apology is a milestone. It can serve as an
example for many victims of violent smear campaigns, demonstrating the importance of
being consistent in defending our rights, and standing shoulder to shoulder in defence of
independent courts,” – she emphasised.
TVP will have to apologise
Within two weeks after the judgment comes into effect, TVP must publish an appropriate
statement and admit that: “[it] hereby apologises to Ms Lyudmyla Kozlovska, Mr Bartosz
Kramek, and the Open Dialogue Foundation for violating their personal rights such as, in
particular, the right to a good name, including reputation and recognition, as well as the
right to protect their image in the form of a logo symbolizing the Foundation, through the
dissemination of the harmful and false information in numerous articles and video footage
posted on www.wiadomosci.tvp.pl i.e. the website managed by TVP.”
Will they actually ever publish such an apology note? Not a long time ago, Monika Olejnik
was not capable of enforcing a similar order successfully. That is why she eventually went
to court to seek a fine from TVP.
Artykuł An unprecedented penalty for TVP Channel. They have no choice but to pay hundreds of thousands of zlotys. pochodzi z serwisu Open Dialogue Foundation.