Israel court urged to toss `SLAPP´ suit against journalist
(World News Austria)

A retired Israel Defense Forces (IDF) general`s defamation lawsuit targeting an independent journalist in Israel illustrates how libel laws can be misused to chill critical speech and the need for legislation to curb such abuse, the International Press Institute (IPI) said today. Israeli-Canadian journalist David Sheen faces a possible fine of 750,000 Israeli shekels (approx. EUR176,000) in a case by retired IDF Major General Israel Ziv over an article about the treatment of African asylum-seekers in Israel and Sheen`s comments about Ziv online. Sheen has worked as a journalist in Israel since 2010, first as a reporter and editor for the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz, then as a freelance...