Centrist left blogger David Osler will have to go to court next month to defend himself against libel charges brought against him by Johanna Kaschke, over whether or not, as David puts it, “simply listing her affiliations, entirely accurately, denies her the right to freedom of association under the European Convention on Human Rights”. Also, a commenter on his site called her “one cherry short of a Schwarzwalderkirschtorte” which she maintains is also libelous. It sounds layughable to bring a case on these grounds, but she did and now David has to defend himself, with the danger that if Kaschke wins the trial, this will bankrupt David. It would also set a nasty precedent, making it easier for nutcases to sue bloggers over nasty things they said about them. So wish him luck.
bjacques
October 12, 2009 at 6:47 amIt’s not only nutcases. In Russia Ramzan Kadyrov, Putin’s murderous Chechen puppet, and Somebody-or-another Dzugashvili, Stalin’s grandson, are suing the critical press for big money. The Herald Tribune recently reported the former as “trying to clear his name,” as opposed to “suing them into oblivion as a warning to other critics.”