Ernst-Dziedzic is relieved that the SLAPP lawsuit against SOS Balkanroute was dismissed: justice has prevailed

2023-07-18 18:31:16

Greens: Intimidation lawsuits against civil society have no place in a vibrant democracy

Vienna (OTS) – “I welcome today’s decision by the Commercial Court to dismiss ICMPD’s (International Center for Migration Policy Development) SLAPP claim against refugee NGO SOS Balkanroute and its leader Petar Rosandić. The lawsuit was apparently an attempt to silence civil society. Here an attempt was obviously made to silence the – quite justified – criticism of an Austrian NGO on the conditions at the EU’s external borders by legal means. Had ICMPD prevailed, it would have set a dangerous precedent in Austria. Because: Civil society fulfills an indispensable function in every democracy and the fundamental right to freedom of expression is a valuable asset,” says the spokeswoman for foreign policy, human rights and migration of the Greens, Ewa Ernst-Dziedzic.

At the start of the trial on Tuesday at the Vienna Commercial Court, more than 50 Austrian and international initiatives, organizations and entire networks of NGOs showed their solidarity with SOS Balkanroute and its founder Petar Rosandić. “This is civil society standing together for common concerns,” says Ernst-Dziedzic and emphasizes: “It is high time that we use the EU’s anti-SLAPP directive in the future to inform those affected by SLAPP lawsuits, especially Human rights activists, enable them to legally defend themselves against manifestly unfounded or abusive legal proceedings. The directive must be decided as soon as possible at EU level and then implemented in Austria. Intimidation lawsuits of this kind must be rejected in the strongest possible terms and have no place in a developed democracy.”

“In a personal conversation in June of this year, I asked the Director General of the international organization ICMPD, Michael Spindelegger, to withdraw the two lawsuits. Now I am pleased that the court also recorded in black and white that the criticism expressed was permissible and that ICMPD’s intimidation tactics did not succeed. Even exaggerated criticism is covered by freedom of expression and must be possible in order to push through civil society concerns – namely housing for refugees in accordance with human rights instead of deportation centers and illegal pushbacks. Projects that are financed by public funds and are implemented in a vacuum of responsibility without taking into account the legal situation and human rights are to be rejected. Human rights defenders like Petar Rosandić, chairman of the NGO SOS Balkanroute, provide indispensable services for our society against all odds and quite rightly shake up our conscience. They stand up courageously and with the greatest commitment for people who otherwise have no lobby,” emphasizes Ernst-Dziedzic.