A group of MEPs have written to the co-owner of Satabank to warn him they are closely watching his defamation suits filed against Times of Malta and blogger Manuel Delia.
The 10 MEPs in the European Parliament's Media Working Group wrote on Tuesday to Christo Georgiev to warn him that press freedom is not negotiable.
"Practices using vexatious lawsuits that aim to threaten journalists and discourage them from publishing investigations are blatant violations of the freedom of expression and of the right to information," they said in their letter.
Georgiev has taken exception to an article written in January 2019 titled ‘Billions of euros in Satabank transactions deemed highly suspicious’.
The bank owner filed the two lawsuits before the Regional Court of Varna, Bulgaria and demanded that the contested articles be removed.
Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP) are intended to chill free speech by burdening journalists and media houses with expensive legal cases, often filed in foreign jurisdictions.
The parliamentarians said Satabank had been forced to cancel its operations in October 2018 after the Malta Financial Services Authority had ordered it to freeze all its clients’ accounts.
They said journalists and their work are central pillars of democracies, and it is their job to act as public watchdogs, investigate and publish their findings.
"We, Members of the European Parliament are highly concerned by such cases, in which abusive legal charges are brought against journalists in order to silence their work. We cannot accept these practices and we shall closely monitor the evolution of the cases against the individuals and outlets concerned. We stand committed to protecting the freedom of the press."
MEP David Casa, who was among the signatories, said: "This abusive practice has to stop - not only in Malta but across the European Union. Our role as lawmakers should be to ensure that journalists are left to investigate corrupt politicians and businesses, and make sure that when such cases are revealed, the judicial process takes place. We will continue our work until we see concrete progress in this area."
Times of Malta editor-in-chief Herman Grech thanked the MEPs for their support.
The letter was signed by Ramona Strugariu, MEP Renew Europe, David Casa, MEP EPP; Magdalena Adamowicz, MEP EPP; Roberta Metsola, MEP EPP; Massimiliano Smeriglio, MEP S&D; Irena Joveva, MEP Renew Europe; Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, MEP Greens/EFA; Alice Kuhnke, MEP Greens/EFA; Dace Melbarde, MEP ECR; Lucia Duris Nicholsonova, MEP ECR; and Stelios Kouloglou, MEP GUE/NGL.