Newspaper appeals lawsuit for publishing photos without permission

On April 24, the Hanoi People's Court will hear the appeal of the civil case regarding the "Request for public apology and compensation for damages" of Ms. Nguyen Thi Mui (Cai Rong town, Van Don, Quang Ninh) with the Vietnam Family newspaper.

Cai Rong Mountain where the brutal murder took place. Photo: VTC

Previously, on September 22, 2017, Cau Giay District People's Court opened the second first-instance trial, partially accepting the lawsuit request of Ms. Nguyen Thi Mui, requesting that the Vietnam Family Newspaper and Editor-in-Chief Ho Minh Chien apologize to readers, Ms. Mui and her family, and the deceased's spirit.

In addition, the Court requested compensation for Ms. Mui of VND 72,726,000, out of the total amount of VND 300 million that Ms. Mui requested compensation.

Both the plaintiff and the defendant did not accept this judgment and filed an appeal to the Hanoi People's Court.

The lawsuit for compensation revolves around the plaintiff suing the newspaper for publishing a portrait of the person providing information in the article without the subject's permission. Ms. Nguyen Thi Mui claims that the Gia Dinh Viet Nam newspaper did not have her written consent when publishing the image, and that it damaged her health, reputation, spirit... causing her to lose 300 million VND.

In addition, the District People's Court requested the newspaper to apologize to the "spirit of the dead" - death row inmate Bui Duc Loi - a murderer involved in a tragic case in Quang Ninh.

'Cannot set a bad precedent in anti-negative journalism'

Editor-in-Chief of the Vietnam Family newspaper, Ho Minh Chien, said that the editorial board maintains the position of not compensating, correcting, or apologizing to the plaintiff for the reason of "posting photos of characters without permission" in the anti-negative article.

“The first instance trial of Cau Giay District People's Court dismissed Ms. Mui's lawsuit because it had no basis, but she later filed a counter-suit with the Cau Giay District People's Court.

The viewpoint of the Vietnamese Family newspaper is, first, that writing the article at that time was to warn society of a bad, heartbreaking event, and also to give the community a perspective, deterrence and education against young people who commit heinous murders.

Second, after Mrs. Mui was incited, a superstitious person said that her son was not executed but had his eyes gouged out and his organs sold to China - an extremely offensive story. The Vietnamese Family newspaper reported this incident to criticize that content.

"When the newspaper's reporter wrote the article, Ms. Mui provided information in the direction of denouncing the People's Court of Quang Ninh province, however, the newspaper must follow the truth. Furthermore, when taking the photo of the subject, Ms. Mui sat completely opposite the reporter and did not react. This means that the subject completely agreed. After that, Ms. Mui filed a lawsuit because she was incited," said Mr. Chien.

The editor-in-chief of the Gia Dinh Viet Nam newspaper said that after the Cau Giay People's Court announced the verdict, the newspaper appealed the entire verdict because the court had absolutely no basis for its conclusion. The court's announcement that compensation must be paid had no legal basis, and it was impossible to apologize to a serial killer like that. This incident needs to be reported to condemn and deter society.

“If the court decides like that, it will create a precedent and loophole for other subjects who want to use this incident to make it difficult for journalism in general. If the press publishes information including photos, and each time a photo is published, it must have a written request for permission, then there is absolutely no legal basis.

We hope that the press agencies will condemn to protect the truth; reflect negative issues completely objectively, not to protect each other, but to protect the working corridor for journalists. Otherwise, it will create a bad precedent for the press to fight on the anti-negative front.

We still maintain our previous position: The posting is for the purpose of the community, society, and is educational and deterrent, not for the purpose of defaming any organization or individual. The posting of the photo is completely legal; it refutes the Court's request for the newspaper to apologize, compensate for damages, and apologize to the souls of others," said Mr. Ho Minh Chien.