In March 2020, Katerina Janouch wrote that students at a school in the municipality of Tierp were forced by a teacher to confess to being Muslim believers. The task originally came from a parent of a student at the school. Katerina Janouch published the content on her website and in social media. There she named the teacher, and also wrote which school the teacher worked at.
According to the verdict, Katerina Janouch has 56,800 followers on Twitter and her posting led to a flood of hate and threatening messages against the teacher on social media. Even the school’s principal had to receive threats, and guards were deployed to guard the school who, among other things, were greeted by masked people.
The district court believes that publishing the teacher’s name and information about the school was a clear indication. A designation that was not justified, above all because the teacher is not a public figure.
Conditional sentence with daily fines
Katerina Janouch does not believe that the press ethics rules should apply to her publications, but the district court does not agree.
The district court also does not share Katerina Janouch’s opinion that there was a great public interest in naming the people in order to highlight the problem and be believed. Even if the information had been true, which the district court determined that it was not, it would not have been justified to publish the teacher’s name.
The district court judges that Katerina Janouch is guilty of gross defamation and sentences her to a suspended sentence and 50 daily fines of SEK 150. She must also pay damages of SEK 50,000 to the teacher.
SVT Uppsala has sought Katerina Janouch’s lawyer for a comment.
Tags: Katerina Janouch sentenced gross defamation started hate storm teachers
