Defending against Intimidation Lawsuits
The Cases of Dr. Romeo Quijano and Carlos Baraona Bray
The Problem
Environmental defenders may find themselves named as defendants in defamation lawsuits in local courts. All too often, the goal of those who bring these lawsuits is to silence environmental defenders who publicly criticize projects or practices that harm both the environment and affected communities. This disfavored type of lawsuit is known in the U.S. as a "SLAPP suit" (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation).
Dr. Romeo Quijano and Carlos Baraona Bray live on opposite ends of the earth. Both are highly educated professionals. They are also environmental defenders who have been forced to defend against such claims.
Dr. Romeo Quijano
Romeo Quijano is a physician and professor of pharmacology and toxicology in the Philippines. He had heard that the people of Kamukhaan, a village adjoining a large banana plantation on the island of Mindanao, were suffering from unusually high rates of disease. When he studied the health effects on the villagers of what he believed to be the overuse of a number of pesticides, Dr. Quijano found dozens of families who appeared to be suffering from pesticide poisoning.
Dr. Quijano videotaped his interviews with the villagers. When he arrived home, he assigned his daughter a summer project of writing a story from the taped interviews. She wrote the article with her father's help and it was published in the newspaper. The article described the harm to the environment, and detailed the unusually high number of people suffering from significant health problems, linking these problems to pesticide exposure.
The publication of the article resulted in a libel action being filed against Dr. Quijano and his daughter by the fruit company. Dr. Quijano and his local lawyer welcomed assistance from EDLC and American lawyers, who prepared an extensive legal brief for use in his case.
Intimidation lawsuits and international human rights law
At EDLC's request, several firms have assisted with legal briefs for use in local courts where these lawsuits are filed. The briefs show how international human rights law prohibits the use of defamation laws to penalize environmental defenders in the exercise of their rights of free speech, petition, and citizen participation, and how human rights bodies have decided cases to this effect.
As this case demonstrates, the methods of chilling pro-environmental activities are not limited to overt violence, but include direct efforts to
quell speech.
- EDLC amicus curiae brief presented by Covington & Burling