STA, 25 February 2022 - A panel of judges of the Celje District Court found Prime Minister Janez Janša guilty of defaming two journalists whom he called "washed up prostitutes" in a 2016 tweet. In a ruling that is not final yet, Janša got a three-month suspended sentence. He is also to cover the costs of the court proceedings.
The ruling comes after the Supreme Court quashed a guilty ruling over Janša's Twitter post in March 2016 reading "the FB page of the public house is offering cheap services by washed up prostitutes Evgenija C. and Mojca P.Š. One for 30 euros, the other for 35. #PimpMilan".
Today, the Celje court gave Janša two-month suspended sentences for defaming each of the two journalists, TV Slovenija reporter Eugenija Carl and Mojca Šetinc Pašek, who was the editor of the news desk at the public broadcaster at the time. But then handed down a combined suspended sentence of three months.
The president of the panel of judges, Alenka Jazbinšek Žgank, said Janša's tweet had been scornful and insulting.
Šetinc Pašek welcomed the ruling. She said Janša had indeed insulted her and Carl and smeared them both privately and professionally. "This tweet has marked me in a way," she said.
Her lawyer Stojan Zdolšek stressed the court had found the tweet was abject smearing that had nothing to do with criticism of journalist work. He is happy with the ruling although the case is not closed yet.
"We seriously suspect that the case will become statute barred in May, as the court is yet to write the ruling and hand it to the accused and his lawyer. Given Janša's past practice the court will not be able to hand him the ruling on time and the case will become statute barred."
Janša's lawyer Franci Matoz announced an appeal as he is convinced that the ruling could stand no trial and had no foundation. He said he and Janša were used to unfair rulings.
He said Janša had not committed the criminal act that he was accused of, so he expects the higher court to annul the ruling.
In their closing statements on Thursday, Zdolšek and Matoz disagreed over whether Janša had actually insulted the journalists.
Zdolšek argued the criminal act had been proven and that he had "committed a severe criminal act against the honour and good name of the two journalists".
Matoz, however, opined that an average Twitter user could not have known which journalists were being mentioned and that the pair had put the tweet in the spotlight themselves.
Janša was sentenced to a three-month suspended sentence by the Celje District Court in November 2018, but the Celje Higher Court ordered a retrial, which started in June 2021.
