Βικιπαίδεια:Είμαστε όλοι Diu/en

Note: This is an approximate translation, not intended to correspond 100% with the Greek text.

Wikipedia:We are all Diu

Two years ago, the academic and politician Theodore Katsanevas sent a notice to the Greek Wikipedia user Diu, demanding the removal of a part of the content of the biographical article about him and asking for the user's identifying information so that he could pursue legal remedies against the presumed offenses against his person. The controversial content was a reference in the article to the will of ex-Prime Minister of Greece Andreas Papandreou, who was at that time Katsanevas' father-in-law, in which Papandreou characterized Katsanevas as a "shame" for his family.

Katsanevas targeted Diu because he was the one that added the information to the article. In accordance with the principles and policies of the Greek Wikipedia, Diu had documented the information easily enough, since a large part of the press corps had covered the topic. Katsanevas also sent a letter to GFOSS, the Greek Free / Open Source Software Society (GFOSS), believing that it has some institutional connection with Wikipedia. The organization declared straight away that it bears no responsibility (which is in fact true) and directed Katsanevas to the user and to the Wikimedia Foundation (which maintains the infrastructure on which Wikipedia and its sister sites run).

On January 26, 2013, a lawsuit was instigated on behalf of Theodore Katsanevas against the user Diu and GFOSS. In the filing Katsanevas accuses Diu, among other things, of having distorted the truth with malice, making flagrantly unjust and malicious references to his person and distorting and tarnishing with malice his biography. He asks the Greek courts to impose a fine for damages of 200,000 euros (with interest from the time of the filing of the suit), as well as imprisonment of Diu for a year. In the case of non-compliance, i.e. if the content is not removed though it has been so ordered, he asks that Diu and GFOSS be required to pay a fine of 30,000 euros for every day of the violation and to impose on Diu a month's imprisonment. The case has been set for trial January 21, 2016 in the Multi-member Court of the First Instance of Athens.

A few days ago a process server gave Diu a notice of a hearing on a preliminary injunction which would require the temporary removal from the Wikipedia article of the phrases Katsanevas claims insult his honor and person, until the case is adjudicated, and would mandate that the defendants also cover his legal fees. Tomorrow, February 12, 2014, Diu is called to appear before the judge in service at the Evelpidon courts for a hearing on the preliminary injunction.

It is of course a fact that even if a preliminary injunction is issued in accordance with Katsanevas' desires, (something extremely doubtful), it's impossible for the user to go ahead and remove the controversial phrases, since he can't violate the policies of Wikipedia without facing the corresponding consequences (reversion of his change and possibly being blocked from editing on Wikipedia). But beyond that, the same content can be republished by any other user. It's well known that Wikipedia articles are open content and can be edited by anyone, without approval by some editorial committee. It's clear from the history of the article that on several occasions lawyers or other persons working on behalf of Katsanevas have removed the content which he finds objectionable, but the content has been restored or even expanded upon by other users besides Diu. This makes it clear that even if a particular user was compelled legally or otherwise to remove content from or to modify an article, that would not obligate anyone else to refrain from restoring the content or the article to its previous form.

This is not the first time that a politician has demanded by legal means or with the threat of legal action the alteration of his or her biographical information to conform with what he or she approves. It is however the only case in which a politician has actually brought a case to court against a specific user. The practice of Katsanevas suing a Wikipedia user, ignoring the plain references and the newspapers themselves given as reference, the contents of which is available on the Internet, and which is used as the basis for the article, seems at least unacceptable and hypocritical.

In this particular case, the Wikipedia user acted on the basis of the rules of the project, having justified his actions in the relevant discussions about the article. Beyond the personal issue, about which the community is quite optimistic that there will be a positive outcome, we believe the specific lawsuit is aimed generally at the project, even though only one user happens to be in the place of the accused. We are all Diu!

Statement by the Wikimedia Foundation

Wikimedia Foundation supports Wikipedia user subject to defamation lawsuit in Greece

Posted by Michelle Paulson on February 14, 2014

Wikipedia does not exist in a vacuum. It was built by and continues to grow thanks to real people, who give their time, knowledge, and enthusiasm to a movement that touches the lives of millions around the world. Unfortunately, giving this gift of knowledge is not without risk and often reveals the courage of our community.

Because of his involvement with Wikipedia, Greek Wikipedia user and administrator Diu is a target of legal action by politician and academic Theodore Katsanevas. Mr. Katsanevas complains that the Greek-language Wikipedia article about him contains some unflattering statements. Instead of addressing his concerns with the Greek-language Wikipedia community through the appropriate processes, Mr. Katsanevas chose to file a lawsuit against Diu.

The controversial statements in question reference the will of Andreas Papandreou, former Prime Minister of Greece and father-in-law of Mr. Katsanevas. The will allegedly characterized Mr. Katsanevas as a “disgrace” to the family and reportedly accused Mr. Katsanevas of “attempting to politically exploit George Papandreou”, also a former Prime Minister of Greece. The statements were properly sourced and in accordance with Wikipedia policies. In fact, the controversy received a great deal of media coverage in Greece.

Diu has apparently been targeted because Mr. Katsanevas seems to believe that the statements were added to the article by Diu and because Diu did not remove the statements after Mr. Katsanevas demanded that he do so. In June 2013, Mr. Katsanevas filed a defamation lawsuit against Diu and The Greek Free / Open Source Software Society (“GFOSS”, also referred to as “ELLAK”), a nonprofit organization in Greece that Mr. Katsanevas mistakenly believed to be the organization running Wikipedia. The case is set to be heard in January 2016.

However, Mr. Katsanevas has now attempted to obtain a preliminary injunction ordering Diu to remove the statements from the Wikipedia article. The hearing is set for March 11, 2014. In the meantime, yesterday the Court issued a pre-preliminary injunction, ordering Diu to provisionally remove the reference to the handwritten will of Andreas Papandreou in the Theodore Katsanevas Greek Wikipedia article, until the March 11th hearing. However, even if the content is removed by Diu, there is no guarantee that the statements will not be republished by other users. The attempt to obtain such an injunction further illustrates Mr. Katsanevas’s apparent fundamental lack of understanding of how Wikipedia works.

The Wikimedia Foundation is deeply disappointed by the unwarranted actions taken by Mr. Katsanevas in this matter. Wikipedia is an open and collaborative project that is committed to uncensored information presented in a neutral point of view and supported by reliable, secondary sources. Diu acted within the scope of these principles and policies — the statements were and still are supported by reputable secondary sources [1] — and the Greek Wikipedia community decided, through discussion, that they were appropriate for the article.

Mr. Katsanevas has ignored these facts and is now using the legal system against those who do not share his financial means and influence. Diu faces serious monetary and criminal penalties as a result of Mr. Katsanevas’s lawsuit. We have offered — and Diu has accepted — assistance through our Legal Fees Assistance Program. Through this program, Diu has obtained independent legal representation with the well-known Lambadarios law firm, who we thank for helping Diu during this difficult time.

We hope that Mr. Katsanevas will reconsider his pursuit of this unconscionable lawsuit, which we see an assault on our users, our projects, and freedom of speech.

Until then, we stand with Diu.

Michelle Paulson Legal Counsel

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[1] See sources used in the Theodore Katsanevas Greek Wikipedia article: http://www.tovima.gr/culture/article/?aid=84975, http://www.protagon.gr/?i=protagon.el.8emata&lid=3202, http://www.tovima.gr/relatedarticles/article/?aid=82208&dt=15/09/1996, and http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/1996/settembre/21/Atene_fattore_Mimi_abbatte_sul_co_0_96092113453.shtml