Spain / Supreme Court Civil Chamber / STS 545/2015

Country

Spain

Title

Spain / Supreme Court Civil Chamber / STS 545/2015

View full Case

Year

2015

Decision/ruling/judgment date

Monday, January 12, 2015

Incident(s) concerned/related

Incitement to violence or hatred

Related Bias motivation

Religion

Groups affected

Muslims

Court/Body type

National Court

Court/Body

Supreme Court Civil Chamber (Tribunal Supremo, Sala de lo Civil)

Key facts of the case

The Supreme Court ruled against Telemadrid TV Channel for attacking the honor of two religious leaders. In October 2010, the Telemadrid TV Channel had broadcasted a report entitled "Twelve magnets of Jihad in Spain” (Los doce imanes de la yihad en España). It linked two well-known Muslim leaders based in Catalonia with "Islamist" terrorism. The report contained images and opinions linked to terrorist attacks such as the twin towers in New York or the bombings of trains in Madrid.

The report made reference to the existence of active jihadist cells without identifying if the claimants did belong to these terrorist cells, or if the claimants were targeting or radicalising activists terrorist.

Main reasoning/argumentation

The ruling confirmed unlawful prejudice to the honour and the image of the plaintiffs, since it referred to Mr. Attaouil as a “radical Salafist magnet" and to Mr. Rachid Menda, as having links with the terrorism.

Is the case related to the application of the Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia, the Racial Equality Directive?

Key issues (concepts, interpretations) clarified by the case

The judgment of the Supreme Court exposes the motives by which the freedom of information does not prevail in this case, as "the unquestionable strength and preponderance of freedom of information yields in the absence of proven accuracy of the news and the seriousness of the information that is disseminated".

Results (sanctions, outcome) and key consequences or implications of the case

The Supreme Court ruled against Telemadrid TV Channel for attacking the honor of two religious leaders.

The court confirmed the compensation of 10,000 euros to each appellant imposed by the previous Girona Provincial Court ruling.

Key quotation in original language and its unofficial translation into English with reference details

“la indiscutible intensidad y preponderancia de la libertad de información cede, sin embargo, ante la ausencia de veracidad contrastada de la noticia y la gravedad de las propias informaciones que se difunden, de indudable incidencia en la reputación de la persona de los recurridos."

"the unquestionable strength and preponderance of freedom of information however gives in because of the absence of proven truthfulness of the news and the gravity of the own information disseminated, that do have an unquestionable impact on complaints person´s reputation."

DISCLAIMERThe information presented here is collected under contract by the FRA's research network FRANET. The information and views contained do not necessarily reflect the views or the official position of the FRA.