Former deputy PM loses defamation case
Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday ordered former deputy prime minister Lu Lay Sreng to pay Prime Minister Hun Sen $125,000 in compensation for defamation.
Judge Y Thavrak said Mr Lay Sreng must also pay $2,000 to the state after he was convicted of defaming the premier.
Mr Lay Sreng was accused of defamation after saying Mr Hun Sen had offered $20,000 to each Funcinpec party official who was prepared to enter the National Assembly once the CNRP was dissolved.
He also allegedly insulted the King by comparing him to a castrated rooster and described Funcinpec leader Prince Norodom Ranariddh as a bad prince.
Mr Lay Sreng was tried in absentia because he fled the country after the defamation complaints were filed against him in October.
Mr Hun Sen’s lawyer Ky Tech said Mr Lay Sreng could appeal if he disagreed with the court’s decision.
“The court provided justice to the Prime Minister and we welcome its decision,” said Mr Tech.
In October, lawyers for Mr Hun Sen, the Justice Ministry and Funcinpec filed three separate defamation lawsuits against Mr Lay Sreng.
One day before the complaints, Mr Hun Sen told about 4,000 garment workers at Koh Pich that Mr Lay Sreng insulted the King.
“He insulted the King by comparing him to a capon,” Mr Hun Sen said. “It was a very serious insult.”
Mr Lay Sreng’s comments were carried in a voice recording on the notorious “Seyha” Facebook page, which is often behind high-profile leaks.
Fresh News later published three recordings of Mr Lay Sreng, a former senior official of the royalist Funcinpec party, making the defamatory comments in a conversation with a woman named as Ky Lum Ang.
Mr Lay Sreng could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Women must expose sexual harassers boldly, but also wisely
It’s January 2018, and sexual-harassment commentary drips down the pages of our newspapers like brandy custard on the stale plum pudding in the back of the fridge. There is a shared intake of breath each time we learn of the un-sexy details of conduct allegedly enacted by some national icons.
The sound of a collective gasp is not the sort of climax that any harasser is generally accustomed to. In fact, this type of exposure is the harasser’s greatest fear, because sexual harassment is about power. It’s about rendering another person “less able” by dispensing humiliating treatment such that the perpetrator feels as though they are the most powerful version of themself. Suddenly, though, the soundtrack to summer 2018 features a chorus of strong Australian women declaring that the “new normal” in exposure will be tipping this power-grab back on its head.
Until now, Australians, for generations, brushed sexual harassment off like a fly on the sunscreen. It’s officially been illegal, on a national level, since the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act in 1984, but to the strains of the “she’ll be right” anthem, women were taught to grin and bear it, because silence was their best bet. No one likes a dobber, and we don’t want things to get nasty, do we? There’s a good girl. (Pat, pat on the bottom. “Now, off ya go, darlin’.”).
Now, more than ever, thanks to the bravery of advocates such as Tracey Spicer, misogynous mould is being scraped from the cultural container of Australian workplaces with unprecedented elbow grease. Putrid practices risk getting the Sunlight soap treatment as women feel the strength of their collective capacity bolstering the strength of their individual voice. Read More …
their best bet. No one likes a dobber, and we don’t want things to get nasty, do we? There’s a good girl. (Pat, pat on the bottom. “Now, off ya go, darlin’.”).
Judge weighing whether to dismiss $50 million defamation suit against The Eagle
A judge is weighing whether to dismiss a $50 million dollar defamation lawsuit against The Eagle, its publisher and one of its reporters, filed by former City Council candidate Craig C. Gaetani.
Judge John Agostini heard arguments in Berkshire Superior Court on Monday from Gaetani and attorney David Valicenti regarding The Eagle’s motion to dismiss the suit.
Gaetani, 69, of Pittsfield, claims information published in an Oct. 24, 2017, article, which covered a candidates’ forum, defamed him and was likely what cost him the election.
Specifically, Gaetani took offense at the final two paragraphs of the story in which reporter Amanda Drane documented an encounter between Gaetani and an individual who recommended that he not drive home, saying he smelled alcohol on Gaetani’s breath.
In Gaetani’s suit, he acknowledged the incident in the parking lot happened as Drane reported.
Valicenti argued for the suit to be dismissed, noting Gaetani’s complaint reiterates that Drane’s reporting was accurate; that due to his position as a City Council candidate at the time, he was a public figure and thus held to a higher standard of libel in which actual malice has to be demonstrated; and Gaetani’s claim the article would cost him the election was mere speculation.
Gaetani, who identified himself during the hearing as both a journalist and a physicist and made at least two mentions of the city’s water plant, which he says he had a hand in developing, claims he didn’t know the men who approached him in the parking lot after the meeting and suggested some type of collusion between them and The Eagle.
He characterized the inclusion of the information as a “cheap shot.”
Agostini said he is taking the matter under advisement and would render a decision as soon as possible.
Noted women’s rights lawyer Gloria Allred says she believes the defamation lawsuit she’s filed against President Donald Trump will go to court, where she expects a “battle.”
“I am hopeful, but there are very complicated legal issues involved. We’ve made our arguments, he’s made his motion to dismiss the arguments, we’ve made our arguments in opposition, they’ve replied, and now we’re waiting to see what the court will do,” Allred told The Daily Beast.
“The judge appears to be a very bright judge who asked the right questions from both sides. It’s going to be a battle.”
Allred is representing “The Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos, who was called a liar by Trump after she claimed she was assaulted by him at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2007.
“The reason we filed this lawsuit is because we believe the truth matters. That’s the reason. We believe truth matters, and we believe that if a person believes — or has reason to believe — that they were defamed, they should have a right to pursue the person that defamed them,” Allred said.
Source: NEWSMAX – Lawyer Gloria Allred Gearing Up for President Donald Trump Defamation ‘Battle’
“The judge appears to be a very bright judge who asked the right questions from both sides. It’s going to be a battle.”
“The judge appears to be a very bright judge who asked the right questions from both sides. It’s going to be a battle.”
Allred is representing “The Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos, who was called a liar by Trump after she claimed she was assaulted by him at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2007.
“The reason we filed this lawsuit is because we believe the truth matters. That’s the reason. We believe truth matters, and we believe that if a person believes — or has reason to believe — that they were defamed, they should have a right to pursue the person that defamed them,” Allred said.
Allred is representing “The Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos, who was called a liar by Trump after she claimed she was assaulted by him at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 2007.
New York appeals court upholds dismissal of defamation suit against Highland Capital
The appellate division of the New York Supreme Court on Jan. 11 upheld an earlier state supreme court decision dismissing a lawsuit by Highland Capital Management against Geoffrey Stern, president of Muirfield Capital Management.
Highland had claimed in a December 2016 lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan that Mr. Stern defamed Highland by knowingly making false statements in an October 2016 news story in the Wall Street Journal. That story regarded a dispute over a eventually liquidated hedge fund managed by Highland. In that story, Mr. Stern alleges that Highland took a secret $30 million fee out of the fund.
The lawsuit claimed Mr. Stern’s statement exposed Highland to “public hatred, ridicule and disgrace,” the original complaint said. The New York Supreme Court originally granted the motion to dismiss filed by Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP on behalf of Mr. Stern and Muirfield Capital in April 2017.
he appellate division of the New York Supreme Court on Jan. 11 upheld an earlier state supreme court decision dismissing a lawsuit by Highland Capital Management against Geoffrey Stern, president of Muirfield Capital Management.
Highland had claimed in a December 2016 lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan that Mr. Stern defamed Highland by knowingly making false statements in an October 2016 news story in the Wall Street Journal. That story regarded a dispute over a eventually liquidated hedge fund managed by Highland. In that story, Mr. Stern alleges that Highland took a secret $30 million fee out of the fund.
The lawsuit claimed Mr. Stern’s statement exposed Highland to “public hatred, ridicule and disgrace,” the original complaint said. The New York Supreme Court originally granted the motion to dismiss filed by Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP on behalf of Mr. Stern and Muirfield Capital in April 2017.
Roy Moore accuser sues him for defamation
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A woman who says failed U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore molested her when she was 14 filed a defamation lawsuit against Moore and his campaign Thursday.
Leigh Corfman said Moore and his campaign defamed her and made false statements as they denied the accusations in the midst of the U.S. Senate race in Alabama. The lawsuit, filed in Montgomery Circuit Court, asks Moore to publicly apologize.
“Mr. Moore sexually abused me when I was only 14 years old. Then he and his campaign called me a liar and immoral when I publicly disclosed his misconduct,” Corfman said in a statement. “By this lawsuit, I seek to do what I could not do as a 14-year-old — hold Mr. Moore and those who enable him accountable.”
Corfman said she was a teen when Moore, then a 32-year-old assistant district attorney, touched her sexually during an encounter. Moore has denied the allegations.
Corfman was one of several women who said Moore pursued them when they were teens.
Corfman and her mother have said that Moore first approached her as she waited outside a custody hearing at the Etowah County courthouse. Corfman said she later arranged to meet Moore and that he took her to his home and initiated the encounter. Corfman said he took off her shirt and pants and removed his clothes except for his underwear before touching her over her bra and underpants.
Efforts to immediately reach Moore for comment were unsuccessful, and a text message to Kayla Moore, Moore’s wife, was not immediately returned.
His campaign issued a statement saying, “We look forward to transparently discussing these matters in a court of law.”
Moore’s campaign was roiled by the accusations as he sought the U.S. Senate seat previously held by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Transgender artistes allege defamation bid by police
The special squad probing the assault on two transgender artistes is yet to secure any evidence to prove involvement of two policemen in the case.
The visuals collected from some of the surveillance cameras from the spot of incident on December 28 only display the movement of a few transgender persons on the street and their alleged physical engagement with men who seek sexual gratification.
No action has been taken against the accused policemen. They were booked on the charges of wrongful restraint and voluntarily causing hurt.
The special squad probing the assault on two transgender artistes is yet to secure any evidence to prove involvement of two policemen in the case. The visuals collected from some of the surveillance cameras from the spot of incident on December 28 only display the movement of a few transgender persons on the street and their alleged physical engagement with men who seek sexual gratification. No action has been taken against the accused policemen. They were booked on the charges of wrongful restraint and voluntarily causing hurt. The special squad probing the assault on two transgender artistes is yet to secure any evidence to prove involvement of two policemen in the case. The visuals collected from some of the surveillance cameras from the spot of incident on December 28 only display the movement of a few transgender persons on the street and their alleged physical engagement with men who seek sexual gratification. No action has been taken against the accused policemen. They were booked on the charges of wrongful restraint and voluntarily causing hurt. The visuals collected from some of the surveillance cameras from the spot of incident on December 28 only display the movement of a few transgender persons on the street and their alleged physical engagement with men who seek sexual gratification. No action has been taken against the accused policemen. They were booked on the charges of wrongful restraint and voluntarily causing hurt.
Rainsy fined $1m for defamation
Former opposition leader Sam Rainsy, currently in exile in France, was found guilty of defamation by Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday and ordered to pay a fine of about $1 million.
Mr Rainsy said he would be able to prove the authenticity of a leaked conversation between Prime Minister Hun Sen and former CNRP turned CPP activist Thy Sovantha, in which the premier allegedly bribed Ms Sovantha to attack the opposition.
Mr Rainsy posted on social media that he welcomes the verdict, because it would give him the opportunity to reveal more facts about Mr Hun Sen.
He added the court ordered him to pay $1 million to the Prime Minister in compensation for allegedly defaming him by reposting Facebook documents showing correspondence between Mr Hun Sen and Ms Sovantha.
Mr Hun Sen allegedly offered the young CNRP activist $1 million for her to conduct activities against the opposition party in early 2017.
“I am confident we will be able to technically prove the authenticity of the leaked conversation between Hun Sen and Thy Sovantha,” Mr Rainsy said. “There are more than 400 leaked messages between the two that have been publicly exposed.”
The former opposition leader added that if someone were to fabricate a story to discredit Mr Hun Sen and Ms Sovantha, there would have been no need to create so many fake messages.
“Nobody apart from the two concerned persons would have known so many details about their relationship, which can be seen as factual proof when it comes to the schedule and detailed activities of Hun Sen,” he said.
In January 2017, Mr Hun Sen filed a defamation suit against Mr Rainsy through his lawyer Ky Tech.
During the hearing, the court played a 26-minute video of Mr Rainsy talking to Cambodian supporters in France, saying the Prime Minister had bribed Ms Sovantha.
Pizzeria customer pays over $5K for Facebook defamation
An Israeli woman who “shamed” a pizzeria on Facebook will pay 18,000 NIS ($5,187) in fines, Nazareth’s Magistrates Court ruled.
The woman, a Nazareth resident, shamed Migdal Haemek’s “Italkia” pizzeria on Facebook, writing that the pizza was “gross” and causing the owner, T., to lose income and damaging his reputation.
“She harmed by business,” T. said. “This is a business that I built by myself with my two hands. I built it from scratch. And here, a few words typed on a keyboard ruined it for me… It was very unpleasant.” He added, “We’re a small town. This is irreversible damage.”
The story began six months ago, when a 50 NIS ($14.4) pizza with eight toppings and tomatoes was not ready on time, and then complained it was “inedible and soggy,” promising “never to buy” from the store again.
“At least the cats will enjoy it,” she said.
She refused the T.”s offer of a refund or new pizza, because he would not deliver the replacement to her home and asked that she come to pick it up. Venting on Facebook, she slammed the pizzeria, describing their pizza as “gross” and using the “#gross” and “#Italkia” hashtags.
Later, she deleted the post of her own accord.
According to Hadashot TV, the woman’s Facebook post brought T. to his knees, forcing him to sell the pizzeria at a loss. T. also said his customer added untrue details to the story, in an effort to make it seem worse than it truly was.
Suing originally for 100,000 NIS ($28,838), T. received 15,000 NIS ($4,326) in compensation and 3,000 NIS ($865) in court costs. In addition, the judge ordered her to publicize the court case and the ruling on her Facebook page.
Meanwhile, T. told Hadashot TV that he would have withdrawn the claim “if she would have come to court and apologized, asking forgiveness.”
China collecting DNA, biometrics from millions in Xinjiang: report
Authorities in China’s far-west are collecting DNA samples, fingerprints, eye scans and blood types of millions of people aged 12 to 65, according to a new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report.
Xinjiang, the only Chinese territory apart from Tibet where ethnic Han Chinese are not in the majority, has long been subject to tight controls and surveillance not experienced elsewhere in China.
In April, authorities banned the region’s 10 million Muslims from wearing long beards or veils in public, as well as banning home schooling and introducing new restrictions on downloading allegedly extremist materials.
Authorities in China’s far-west are collecting DNA samples, fingerprints, eye scans and blood types of millions of people aged 12 to 65, according to a new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report. Xinjiang, the only Chinese territory apart from Tibet where ethnic Han Chinese are not in the majority, has long been subject to tight controls and surveillance not experienced elsewhere in China. In April, authorities banned the region’s 10 million Muslims from wearing long beards or veils in public, as well as banning home schooling and introducing new restrictions on downloading allegedly extremist materials. Authorities in China’s far-west are collecting DNA samples, fingerprints, eye scans and blood types of millions of people aged 12 to 65, according to a new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report. Xinjiang, the only Chinese territory apart from Tibet where ethnic Han Chinese are not in the majority, has long been subject to tight controls and surveillance not experienced elsewhere in China. In April, authorities banned the region’s 10 million Muslims from wearing long beards or veils in public, as well as banning home schooling and introducing new restrictions on downloading allegedly extremist materials. In April, authorities banned the region’s 10 million Muslims from wearing long beards or veils in public, as well as banning home schooling and introducing new restrictions on downloading allegedly extremist materials.
