Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash has a complicated history with the Kyiv Post, Ukraine’s most-read English language newspaper. The gas tycoon accused the newspaper of libel in London’s High Court, but a judge dismissed the case.
The British judge, John Leslie, concluded that his link to English jurisdiction was “tenuous in the extreme.” The Kyiv Post’s case was hailed as a victory for press freedom worldwide and a blow to so-called libel tourism.
“Mr. Firtash had no residence here, nor any active business pursuits. I have been given no evidence of visits to this country, the length of his stay if he does come here or where he stays. There is absolutely nothing to connect him with this country,” said Leslie.
The case was over a July 2010 article: “Gas trade leaves trail of lawsuits, corruption,” which focused on Firtash’s intermediary company Swiss-registered RosUkrEnergo and suggested that then visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “should urge (the Ukrainian) authorities to kick off an anti-corruption campaign with … the murky – yet highly lucrative – natural gas sector.”
Firtash’s lawyers said aspects of the article were “false and grossly defamatory.” The Kyiv Post temporarily blocked access to its United Kingdom readers in protest against the country’s libel laws, which made it easy for foreigners to sue in a London court.
“The story wasn’t libelous, and we – then and now and in the future — have and will repeatedly offer Mr. Firtash the opportunity to correct, respond and tell his side of the story. He has chosen so far to talk in court,” said Kyiv Post chief editor Brian Bonner at the time. “If news media cannot report on public allegations made by current or former top public officials involving a public figure, then how can [they] find out what is happening in their nation?”
Firtash has always declined interviews with the Kyiv Post.
