South African human rights lawyer and activist, Yasmin Sooka has won a case against Jayaraj Palihawadana, a UK based Sri Lankan lawyer.
Jayaraj Palihawadana, until recently the UK representative of the political party of former Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has apologised unreservedly in court to Sooka for making false statements against her.
Sooka initiated a data protection claim in the UK under the Data Protection Act 2018, challenging the publication of inaccurate personal information detrimental to her reputation.
Jayaraj Palihawadana published a report which he sent it to 47 diplomatic missions in Geneva in 2021 falsely claiming that Sooka was biased in favour of a proscribed terrorist group.
In her witness statement to the High Court King’s Bench Division, Sooka said: “Naturally these allegations are completely false and appear to be a calculated attempt to discredit me in my work as a human rights defender in Sri Lanka. The Court will probably be aware that it is well-worn tactic of repressive regimes around the world to denounce human rights defenders as terrorists, or supporters of terrorists, smearing them by association.”
A solicitor himself, Palihawadana failed to delete all the offending remarks or apologise at the outset, and instead attempted to file a counterclaim against Sooka, which the court dismissed.
Eventually he agreed not only to pay substantial legal costs and compensation to Sooka but also agreed to retract his comments and publish an apology online in English and Sinhala.
Additionally, as the defendant, Palihawadana agreed to make a Statement in Open Court today which said: “The Defendant unconditionally retracts and apologises unreservedly for the aforementioned untrue allegations made against the Claimant in the Reports.To indicate the sincerity of this apology, the Defendant has agreed to pay the Claimant a substantial sum to compensate her for distress and harm to her reputation arising from the Reports. The Defendant has also agreed to bear the Claimant’s reasonable costs.”
Under the terms of the judgement, Palihawadana agreed to publish on his website a full apology.
Sooka’s legal team also established an important precedent by gaining permission for the first time from the UK High Court to make a Statement in Open Court in a Data Protection case.
“This brings to an end a long-running debate among practitioners about whether Statements in Open Court are available for other causes of action than libel, slander, malicious falsehood and misuse of private or confidential information,” said Sooka’s counsel, Guy Vassall-Adams KC.
While the precedent will have implications for future data protection cases, the legal team hope the wider value will be to support human rights activists against repeated onslaughts.
“We are delighted to have upheld the reputation of our client against these sort of slanders that so many human rights activists around the world have thrown at them, attempting to silence them and prevent them from speaking the truth. It’s important that this court process acts as a deterrent and that’s why the financial penalties help drive home the point,” said Daniel Machover of Hickman and Rose, the solicitors for Sooka.
Yasmin Sooka says she is in discussions about establishing a scholarship fund for the children of political prisoners and families of the disappeared in Sri Lanka with her compensation money when she receives it.
Courtesy: Colombo Gazette
