PRO TV Obliged to Pay MDL 40 thousand Compensation to a Teacher from Ungheni

The TV channel PRO TV Chisinau will pay MDL 40 thousand to a teacher from Ungheni, the protagonist of the scandalous journalistic material aired January 2015 under the headline “Terrible Revenge from Ex-Boyfriend. A Romanian Man Filmed His Girlfriend, a Teacher from Ungheni District, During Oral Sex.” A final and irrevocable decision in this regard was made by the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) on Wednesday, May 24, 2017.

In the reasoning of the lawsuit against the television station, the teacher invoked “the lack of discretion of the outlet”s employees regarding the right to private life, respect for honor, dignity, and professional reputation,” and she claimed moral damages of 1.5 million lei. In the first instance, the Rascani District Court decided that the television station would pay the applicant MDL 40,000. The decision was upheld by the Chisinau Court of Appeal, and on Wednesday, May 24, the SCJ made a final and irrevocable decision in this respect, forcing the TV station to pay compensation of MDL 40,000.  

We shall remind that after the publication of the material, several media NGOs sent a letter to the management of this TV station asking for a public apology to the teacher from Ungheni “for unjustified interference in her private life.” More than 2,500 people have also signed an Internet petition with the same message: “We are asking PRO TV to publicly apologize for a traumatic and prejudicial report.”

PRO TV Chisinau replied on January 23, 2015 in a public letter, saying they regretted these errors and apologizing to the teacher from Ungheni and “to all those who were offended by the broadcasting of these materials.”