Whistleblowers beware
German reporter Hans-Martin Tillack’s claim that the European Commission punished him for exposing EU fraud by using the Belgian police to snatch his files has not been proved, EU courts in Luxembourg ruled this morning.
“The court considers that there is not a sufficiently direct causal link between the forwarding of the information [that Mr Tillack bribed EU officials] by OLAF to the Belgian judicial authorities and the damage claimed in order for liability to be established on that basis,” the Court of First Instance judgement stated.
The decision clears the way for the EU-anti fraud office, OLAF, to examine the reporter’s contact books - currently in Belgian police hands - in its hunt for an internal leak that helped Mr Tillack break major stories about EU corruption back in 2002.
It is also set to discourage other people from bringing similar accusations against non-transparent forms of cooperation between the EU anti-fraud authorities and national police.
The court also cleared OLAF of smearing the journalist’s name with public bribery allegations between 2002 and 2004, in a judgment that the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) sees as a blow against press freedom and democracy in the heart of the European Union.
“The court ruling does not change anything about the injustice of this case,” said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. “It does not vindicate the European Commission or officials in OLAF who have behaved disgracefully in this affair by making unsubstantiated allegations and it does not deal with the appalling denial of justice by Belgian police who have still to make an official report on their investigation.”
The case of Tillack, an investigative journalist working for Stern magazine, arose after officials from the European Union anti-corruption unit OLAF complained to police about him, claiming that he had bribed officials for information. No evidence has emerged to sustain this complaint, but Belgian police raided his home and offices and seized papers and confidential documents. Three years after the incident there has been no official report and no charges laid against Tillack.
Wednesday 04 Oct 2006 | Paul | Belgium, EU
