The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and the SafeJournalists Network (SJN) have expressed their dismay at a recent defamation verdict by a judge in North Macedonia that recommends shutting down Investigative Reporting Laboratory (IRL).

The ruling, which was issued on 24 October 2023, is seen as a violation of international standards, a fundamental failure to recognise the public interest of journalism, and an attack on investigative journalism and media freedom in the country. The judge ruled against IRL and its editor-in-chief, Sashka Cvetkovska, and ordered them to pay €1 in damages to businessman Kocho Angjushev, the former Deputy Prime Minister of North Macedonia. However, the judge inexplicably ruled that IRL should be classified as 'non-media’ and that its staff were members of a group’ rather than professional journalists. She suggested the platform was operating illegally and recommended that the Ministry of Justice examine the operations of the media outlet.

The civil defamation lawsuit stemmed from a documentary IRL aired in May 2021, entitled 'Conspiracy Against the Air’. The documentary revealed how chemical-filled fuel oil used in heating systems throughout the country’s public institutions were causing pollution. The court of appeal dismissed the verdict and ordered a retrial, where the same judge excluded the public from monitoring the trial and sided with Angjushev, finding the defendants guilty of defamation.

IRL, a member centre of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), will appeal the ruling to a higher court and intend to file a complaint with the constitutional court over the alleged violation of the constitutional right to freedom of the press. The MFRR and SJN organisations stand firmly behind the Investigative Reporting Laboratory and its staff, supporting their principled legal challenge against this ruling and its serious consequences for investigative journalism in North Macedonia.

Experts have long claimed that media freedom in northern Macedonia faces threats such as political influence, ownership concentration, and occasional legal challenges, posing risks to independent journalism and free expression.