THE LAWSUIT EXTENDS TO HIS RADIO PRODUCTION COMPANY AND A REGIONAL NEWSPAPER

Prosecutor Stampa files a lawsuit against journalist Francisco Chavanel for violation of the right to honor

The lawsuit also extends to the company that produces his radio program and a regional newspaper, where Chavanel has made his "insults" and "disqualifications." Was the journalist previously convicted of slander against a judge?

October 1 2014 (14:27 WEST)
Prosecutor Stampa files a lawsuit against journalist Francisco Chavanel for violation of the right to honor
Prosecutor Stampa files a lawsuit against journalist Francisco Chavanel for violation of the right to honor

Prosecutor Ignacio Stampa filed a lawsuit this Tuesday in the Courts of Arrecife against journalist Francisco Chavanel, whom he accuses of violating the right to honor and violating the citizen's right to obtain truthful and verified information. 

In addition, Stampa extends the lawsuit to the company El Escorpión de Jade, which produces Chavanel's radio program, and to the newspaper Canarias 7, where the journalist has written several articles in recent months.

The lawsuit, which has been filed through a law firm in Madrid, responds to the "insults" and "disqualifications" that Chavanel has been making against Ignacio Stampa in the last five months, referring to both personal aspects of his life and professional aspects, in relation to the participation of this prosecutor in the Unión and Stratvs cases.

Throughout the document presented by this law firm, the falsehood of each of the accusations and insinuations that Chavanel has launched against Stampa is documented, so his defense asks that the attacks cease and that it be declared that the honor of this prosecutor has been violated, as well as compensation for the damage caused.

 

Chavanel already has a conviction for slander


The journalist Francisco Chavanel, who worked in Gran Canaria and in recent months has focused on Lanzarote, dedicating himself to questioning the investigations of various corruption cases on the island, already has a conviction for slander.

In that procedure, it was a judge of the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands who sued Chavanel, who was sentenced to pay the magistrate 15,000 euros. In that case, the slander was made in a single program and in its corresponding rebroadcast.

In the new lawsuit he is now facing, the sources consulted by La Voz have not specified the amount claimed as compensation, although they do clarify that it is requested to be proportional to the damage, the means of dissemination used and the reiteration of the attacks. Thus, starting from the 15,000 euros that were imposed on Chavanel for what he said in a single program, the compensation he could now face if convicted could multiply and skyrocket that sum, considering all the articles he has written and the interventions he has made in several radio stations on all the islands in recent months.

If Chavanel were convicted, the producer of his program and the newspaper Canarias 7 should be jointly and severally liable for the payment of the compensation, in case the journalist declared himself insolvent to face it.

 

Stampa, supported by the Fiscal Council


Last July, the Fiscal Council, chaired by the State Attorney General, already made public a resolution requesting the "cessation of attacks against the honor" of prosecutor Ignacio Stampa in certain local and regional media, some of them linked to defendants in proceedings followed by Stampa, and who were trying to question his "professionalism and honorability".

Thus, in addition to showing its support for the prosecutor, the highest body of the Prosecutor's Office in Spain made it clear that "this type of criticism has not conditioned nor will condition the work of the Public Prosecutor's Office in the fulfillment of its functions".

For his part, Ignacio Stampa declined to make statements then and has not wanted to speak now either. Stampa has referred to the Fiscal Council, leaving the lawsuit in the hands of his lawyers and the Court that corresponds to process it.

Most read