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From: TT
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Photograph: Matt Dunham / AP / TT
The lawsuit against the Swedish newspaper Realtid, its editor-in-chief and two journalists has been filed in a London court. Stock Photography.
A Swedish businessman has filed a lawsuit in England against the Swedish news site Realtid.
– This is completely contrary to our Swedish press freedom traditions, where a Swedish newspaper or Swedish site should be tested in Sweden, period, says Thomas Mattsson of Tidningsutgivarna (TU).
The lawsuit was filed in London and is directed at the site, its editor-in-chief and the two reporters who conducted the review.
But if it is possible to process in other countries that have legislation that we are not fully aware of, it creates legal uncertainty, says Thomas Mattsson, acting CEO of TU.
– The “smear tourism” is used to threaten and force investigative journalism to keep silent, that is the purpose, he says.
High prices
The cost of litigation in other countries can be high, and the expensive costs of litigation abroad can be used to threaten the Swedish media to refrain or withdraw publications, says Thomas Mattsson.
In Sweden, there is a responsible publisher who is responsible for what is published, a system that has existed for several hundred years.
– If there is no predictability in the legislation, self-censorship is created for the media. And it must be the case that a Swedish media that is published in accordance with the Swedish constitutions in Swedish in Sweden is tried in Sweden. Whether in the media ethics system or in the Swedish courts, says Thomas Mattsson.
“Our reporters have examined a large capital raising in an exemplary way. Attempting then to round up Swedish constitutional editorial responsibility by suing Realtid, me and the reporters in London is not acceptable. If the posts are to be tested, it is reasonable that they be processed in Sweden, with me as the editor in charge, ”Camilla Jonsson, editor-in-chief of Realtid.se said in a statement.
Hope for support
This is not the first example of Swedish media being sued in court in other countries, and the problem has attracted international attention. Recently, representatives of 83 organizations asked the EU to act on the issue in a discussion article in Aftonbladet.
The Utgivarna industry organization, which in addition to TU media includes Sveriges Radio, Utbildningsradion, SVT, TV4-Gruppen and Sveriges Tidskrifter, now expects broad support from industry organizations and media companies for a demand that these kinds of lawsuits must be stopped.
– Those who can stop it are ultimately the legislators, and then the Swedish government is required to defend the Swedish constitutions, says Thomas Mattsson.
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