Rights group concerned about closure of Grenada paper

The Paris-based newspaper watchdog group Reporters Without Borders (RWB) on Wednesday appealed to the Grenada government to introduce legislation to limit the amount of money that persons can claim for damages from the media.

It was in response to a Grenada High Court decision to put the the Grenada Today newspaper into liquidation in order to pay a libel award of US$71,135 to former prime minister Dr. Keith Mitchell.

"Grenada Today's liquidation is bad news for media diversity and, above all, a very bad precedent for the resolution of disputes linked to press offences," RWB said in a media release.

“Regardless of the substance of the case, it highlights the disproportionate nature of damages awards that threaten the survival of the publication concerned.

"We call for a legislative amendment that limits the amount of damages that a plaintiff can demand. And we hope that, although there are no further possibilities of appeal, that Grenada Today can nonetheless still be saved by a last-minute deal," RWB said.

The paper’s editor, George Worme is considering various options, including the launch of a new newspaper.

“Since the events have unfolded, I have been approached by several different people who are interested in forming a new newspaper and they have approached me to be associated with them. I am giving consideration to my options,” Worme told reporters.

Justice Claire Henry Tuesday appointed former accountant general Garvey Louison as the liquidator after Worme’s lawyer told the court that his client failed to reach an agreement to settle the award with Mitchell.

Mitchell sued the newspaper over the publication of a letter from a reader in 2001 that contained disparaging remarks about him.

The High Court awarded compensation of US$44,692 in 2003, but the matter was appealed and the Court of Appeal increased the judgement.

RWB said that the lawsuit against Grenada Today, one of five weekly newspapers on the island, “is is very similar to the kind of lawsuit specifically designed to intimidate and silence critics that is referred to in English-speaking countries as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation or SLAPP.

“It usually takes the form of a defamation action carried out with the aim of forcing the target, a news media or NGO, to either fold or retract because mounting legal costs or the threat of a ruinous damages award.

“Reporters Without Borders supports the principle of anti-SLAPP legislation,” the Paris-based media watchdog group said.