Zhu Ting sued 5 people for defamation and was filed by the court.
Lawyer: The circumstances are serious and can be held criminally liable
On the evening of the 27th, the People’s Court of Huiji District, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province announced that it had filed a case for Chinese women’s volleyball player Zhu Ting v. Today’s headline user "Volleyball Life" and other self-media account defamation 5 cases.
According to the official website of the Huiji District Court, on December 3, the litigation attorney entrusted by the private prosecutor Zhu Ting went to the People’s Court of Huiji District, Zhengzhou City to submit the criminal private prosecution and evidence materials. "Football", "Conan Dialect Ping Pong", WeChat subscription account "Volleyball Dialogue", and Sina Weibo ID "First Fan Fat Brother" self-media account fabricated facts, slandered the private prosecutor Zhu Ting through the Internet, and demanded defamation on the grounds that the circumstances were serious The five defendants were held criminally responsible for the crime, an apology and compensation for related property losses.
During the review process, the Huiji District People's Court notified the private prosecution agent to supplement relevant certification materials and obtain relevant evidence ex officio.
Upon review, Zhu Ting’s private prosecution complied with the relevant provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China, and the case was filed in accordance with the law on December 27, 2021.
What are the criteria for "serious circumstances" that constitute a crime of defamation?
In the Internet age, how to prevent cyber violence?
In this regard, a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily consulted with lawyer Yue Dishan of Beijing Yuecheng Law Firm.
statement
How can criminal liability be investigated for defamation?
Attorney Yue stated that according to Article 246 of the Criminal Law: Those who use violence or other methods to openly insult others or fabricate facts to slander others, and the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, surveillance, or deprivation of political rights.
The standard for filing private prosecutions for defamation crimes needs to reach the level of "serious circumstances".
In other words, the judicial interpretation guides the trial courts on how to determine the criteria for serious circumstances by way of enumeration.
Attorney Yue said that in Zhu Ting's case, if the defendant's behavior is found to be "serious" after a court hearing, he can be held criminally liable for defamation.
Insulting and slandering celebrities on the information network is suspected of defamation.
The defamation of celebrities and the defamation of natural persons in general have the same legal provisions applicable to them, and they do not belong to special criminal targets or legal interests specially protected by the criminal law.
Attorney Yue believes that because celebrities are well-known and sensitive to public opinion, it will be easier to slander public figures such as Zhu Ting, and it will be spread more quickly on the Internet and cause more serious harm. Therefore, the act of slandering celebrities The possibility of reaching the scope of criminal law is relatively higher.
How to determine the crime of defamation?
"The determination of the crime of defamation requires that the behavior of the perpetrator meets the constitutive requirements of the crime of defamation: at the objective level, the perpetrator spreads fabricated facts, and the fabricated facts are facts that damage the specific content of the social evaluation of others to a certain extent; at the subjective level, The perpetrator needs to be deliberate, that is, he knows that he is spreading false facts that are enough to damage the reputation of others, and he knows that his actions may result in damage to the reputation of others, hoping or allowing such results to happen." Attorney Yue said, for Zhu Ting In the case of defamation, if the crime of defamation is proved, sufficient evidence is needed to prove that the above-mentioned crime constitutes the corresponding facts.
How to prevent cyber violence?
With the continuous development of the Internet, cyber violence has become the “standard configuration” of hot incidents. “One person has bad reviews and 10,000 likes” is no longer new in the online world.
The prevention and control of online violence is a social issue that has received widespread attention from all walks of life in recent years. From the perspective of the cause of crime, the reasons for online violence may have many aspects, such as the psychological factors of the perpetrator or behavior group, the lack of online supervision, and the law itself. Limitations and hysteresis, etc.
Attorney Yue said that he can file a complaint with the online platform and ask the operator of the online platform to delete the relevant infringing speech; in civil law, a civil lawsuit can be filed on the grounds of reputation disputes, requiring the other party to compensate for losses and apologize; in criminal law, in addition to insults In addition to the crime of defamation, if you think that online violence seriously endangers social order, you can also request the public security agency to file a case for investigation on the grounds of the crime of provoking quarrels.
Text / reporter Zhou Xueshuai