The Mayor of Bitola Vladimir Taleski will not appeal the verdict of the Basic Court Skopje, where he lost his case against journalist Aneta Blazevska from Bitola.
Major Taleski sued Ms Blazevska over a text she had written called ,”How rich is Vladimir Taleski” published in “Utrinski” newspaper in November 2013. Mt Taleski sued the journalist, however the the court rejected his lawsuit as unfounded, and it became effective after the mayor did not appeal.
The court, citing the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights and Freedoms and having regard to the European Court of Human Rights, the Major Taleski was advised as a public official to be ready to suffer greater tolerance for more criticism.
The verdict states that “The fact that the plaintiff believes that the defendant premeditated their reporting on events related to the Major’s work to their own subjective opinion the Court can understand that such articles may feel like a personal attack on him and his personality, but it does not mean that the responsibility for insult and slander lays with the the defendant, but rather, as a holder of high public office, a public figure the plaintiff regarding his job is exposed to the public, as well as its operations, and should expect various articles in the future.”
As for the text written by journalist Ms Blazevska, the court concludes that she that she was reporting on issues of public interest related to the local government and that there is no liability for any insult, slander or defamation.
Filip Medarski, the defence attorney for the journalist, believes the court made the right decision.
“This decision is correct because it is based on the standards of the European Union. It is good that our courts have taken into account these standards and visible incorporation”, said Mr Medarski to our journalists from “Meta”.
The Mayor of Bitola, Vladimir Talevski, declined to make a comment, despite our insistence.
