Spain
Spanish sentencing ruled a violation by European Court of Human RightsPosted Jun 10 2010
The European Court of Human Rights ruled on June 2 that the Spanish sentencing of now-defunct Diario 16 newspaper editor Jose Luis Gutierrez over an article connecting now-deceased King Hassan II to a drug raid was a violation of right to freedom of expression and press, protected in Article 10 in the European Convention.
The initial case began in 1995 when Diario 16 published a story about the discovery of five tons of hashish in a truck belonging to the Domaines Royaux, a company owned by the Alaouite royal family. The headline read, “A family company belonging to Hassan II implicated in drug trafficking.” However, a year later, the Spanish court ruled that the traffickers had no connection with the Domaines Royaux companies.
In 1997, the Moroccan Royal Crown sued the article author, Rosa Maria Lopez, Guttierez and the publishing company in Spanish courts. The court ruled in favor of the Moroccan Royal Crown, citing “an interference with the fundamental right to respect for the king’s reputation.”
According to the International Press Institute, Gutierrez pursued appeals all the way to the European Court of Human Rights with the IPI’s support. The Court’s June 2nd ruling noted that, “whilst the headline had been designed to attract the reader’s attention, the information in the body of article was true.”
Gutierrez wrote in an email to IPI, “This ruling of the European court of Human Rights is a great example of support for freedom of speech and press, precisely at a time when the democratic press in the world is coming under attack by totalitarian and undemocratic forces.”