One of the most controversial bloggers, Mitja Kunstelj, who is famous for libelling right-wing politicians in particular (his mudslinging is often directed at Janez Janša, the president of the largest opposition party SDS), received a slap in the face after he had subjected former minister of the interior Dr Vinko Gorenak to serious libel. The owner of the server, which had made it possible for these publications to see the light of day and spread like wildfire, will also be held accountable for the lies, and according to Gorenak, this is the first such case in Slovenia.
Let us recall. In 2012 and 2013, Kunstelj used his website to present some sort of soap opera that centred on Gorenak, who was Slovenia’s minister of interior at the time, and Dejan Kaloh, who was an advisor in Gorenak’s office. Just before the Slovenian parliamentary election in 2014, this soap opera crossed a line – someone compiled all his lies and distributed them around Slovenia.
These actions caused considerable damage since the largest opposition party SDS lost about 5 percent of votes at the 2014 election, and Gorenak lost 50 percent of votes. Anyone in the shoes of one of the most popular ministers and deputies of SDS would have decided to initiate criminal proceedings, and that is exactly what Gorenak did. Kunstelj was convicted, and the subsequent civil proceedings resulted in his conviction as well.
This is the first such case
At any rate, the redress procedure against the company that owned the server on which Kunstelj was hosted is far more significant. Gorenak won this lawsuit with a final judgement at the higher court in Ljubljana. Gorenak points out that this is the first case in which a company owning the server has been convicted. Most likely, this is also the main reason why he is being called by numerous lawyers who wish to take a look at the judgement in order to study it, as it has great practical value.
Gorenak did not keep the amount which was awarded to him by the court since he handed it over to the young prospective lawyer who had led the proceedings. “I do not need the money of a liar and the company that supported him – what matters is the truth.” As we can see, Gorenak achieved another victory, which indicates that justice does always prevail in the end.
H. M.