Decision of the Complaints Committee 05173-15 Swinarska v
That’s Life
Summary of complaint
1. Marta Swinarska complained to the Independent Press
Standards Organisation that That’s Life! had breached Clause 1 (Accuracy),
Clause 2 (Opportunity to reply), Clause 3 (Privacy), Clause 4 (Harassment),
Clause 5 (Intrusion into grief or shock), and Clause 6 (Children) of the
Editors’ Code of Practice in an article headlined “Snatched”, published on 21
August 2015.
2. The article was a first-person account of a dispute given
by the complainant’s former partner over the custody of their two children. The
article stated that the complainant had taken one of their daughters from their
home in Cyprus to Poland, and had refused to return her despite two court
orders stating that the child should live with her father. Her former partner
described how he finally located the complainant and their daughter in Poland,
and took the child back to Cyprus. The article stated that the complainant had
pleaded guilty in a Cypriot court to child abduction, and received an 18-month
suspended sentence.
3. The complainant said that the published account was
inaccurate, and noted that the court cases were ongoing. She said she had pleaded
guilty to child abduction in Cyprus in April 2015 because she needed to return
to her job in Poland; she was not guilty. She considered that the magazine had
failed to report her account of the dispute: she provided a statement that she
had given to the Cypriot family court, in which she had raised concerns about
her former partner’s parenting, and had made serious allegations about his
conduct. She said the children had been “snatched” from her, not from him. The
complainant said that a previous newspaper article, upon which the magazine had
based its piece, had also given a misleading account of the events leading up
to her daughter’s removal from Poland to Cyprus.
4. The complainant said she had not been contacted before
the article was published in breach of Clause 2, and she had not agreed to have
her or her children’s photographs published in breach of Clause 3 and Clause 6.
She said the article represented harassment in breach of Clause 4, and an
intrusion into her and her family’s grief in breach of Clause 5.
5. The magazine said that a newspaper had supplied the
story, which had also featured on a television programme. Before publishing the
story, the magazine said it had interviewed the complainant’s former partner at
length. It had not contacted the complainant for her comment because it did not
have her contact details. It noted that it had not published the complainant’s
comments, which were included in the previous newspaper coverage, but at that
time it understood that she had not raised any concerns about the accuracy of
that article, and it similarly considered that its piece had been accurate.
6. The magazine said the complainant’s former partner had
disputed her allegations of misconduct. It considered that had those allegations
been accepted in court, he would not have been awarded custody of the children.
7. It noted that the complainant did not dispute that a
court in Poland had ordered the complainant to return her daughter to her
father. Furthermore, it said it had seen a copy of the order from the Cypriot
family court, dated 18 May 2015, which awarded custody to the father, pending
the trial. During IPSO’s investigation, the magazine provided translations of
Polish court documents, dated 12 October 2012, which stated that on 25
September 2012 the court had ordered the compulsory removal of the child from
the complainant, but the complainant had not complied with the order.
8. The magazine considered that it had been entitled to rely
on the fact of the complainant’s conviction, despite her contention that she
was not guilty. As it believed that the article was accurate, it said that an
opportunity to reply was not required, but it offered to publish a letter from
the complainant on its letters page as a potential means to resolve the matter.
9. The magazine said that the children’s father had provided
the photographs of the children and had given his consent to their publication;
it did not consider that it had needed the complainant’s consent to publish her
photograph. It did not believe that the article represented harassment or an
intrusion into the complainant’s grief.
10. On receipt of the court documents provided by the
magazine, the complainant provided further court documents in Polish, which she
said demonstrated that the previous court order had been revoked. These
documents related to a court decision made on 26 August 2013.
Relevant Code Provisions
11. Clause 1 (Accuracy)
i. The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate,
misleading or distorted information, including pictures.
ii. A significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or
distortion once recognised must be corrected, promptly and with due prominence,
and - where appropriate - an apology published. In cases involving the
Regulator, prominence should be agreed with the Regulator in advance.
iii. The Press, whilst free to be partisan, must distinguish
clearly between comment, conjecture and fact.
Clause 2 (Opportunity to reply)
A fair opportunity for reply to inaccuracies must be given
when reasonably called for.
Clause 3 (Privacy)
i. Everyone is entitled to respect for his or her private
and family life, home, health and correspondence, including digital
communications.
ii. Editors will be expected to justify intrusions into any
individual's private life without consent. Account will be taken of the
complainant's own public disclosures of information.
iii. It is unacceptable to photograph individuals in private
places without their consent. Note - Private places are public or private
property where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.
Clause 4 (Harassment)
i. Journalists must not engage in intimidation, harassment
or persistent pursuit.
ii. They must not persist in questioning, telephoning,
pursuing or photographing individuals once asked to desist; nor remain on their
property when asked to leave and must not follow them. If requested, they must
identify themselves and whom they represent.
iii. Editors must ensure these principles are observed by
those working for them and take care not to use non-compliant material from
other sources.
Clause 5 (Intrusion into grief or shock)
i. In cases involving personal grief or shock, enquiries and
approaches must be made with sympathy and discretion and publication handled
sensitively. This should not restrict the right to report legal proceedings,
such as inquests.
ii. When reporting suicide, care should be taken to avoid
excessive detail about the method used.
Clause 6 (Children)
i. Young people should be free to complete their time at
school without unnecessary intrusion.
ii. A child under 16 must not be interviewed or photographed
on issues involving their own or another child's welfare unless a custodial
parent or similarly responsible adult consents.
iii. Pupils must not be approached or photographed at school
without the permission of the school authorities.
iv. Minors must not be paid for material involving
children's welfare, nor parents or guardians for material about their children
or wards, unless it is clearly in the child's interest.
v. Editors must not use the fame, notoriety or position of a
parent or guardian as sole justification for publishing details of a child's
private life.
Findings of the Committee
12. It was not in dispute that the complainant had taken her
child from Cyprus to Poland, and had failed to comply with two court orders, which
stated that the child should be returned to her father. It was also accepted
that her former partner had taken steps to locate the child and had taken her
back into his custody, and that the complainant had pleaded guilty to child
abduction in a court in Cyprus. These details, which the magazine had
accurately reported, were supported by the court documents supplied by the
magazine during IPSO’s investigation.
13. In circumstances in which the central aspects of the
story had been reported accurately, the omission of the complainant’s version
of those events was not significantly misleading. The Committee was satisfied
that there was no failure to take care over the accuracy of the article. No
significant inaccuracies were identified by the complaint. The complaint under
Clause 1 was not upheld.
14. Clause 2 provides for an opportunity to reply to
inaccuracies, post-publication. The magazine was not obliged to contact the
complainant for her comment before the article was published. Furthermore, in
response to the complaint, the magazine had offered to publish a letter from
the complainant on its letters page. There was no breach of Clause 2.
15. The magazine had published images of the complainant,
which showed her face, and which had been supplied by her former partner. It
had not disclosed any private information in breach of Clause 3.
16. While the complainant considered that her former
partner’s account was inaccurate, its publication did not represent harassment
or an intrusion into her grief under the terms of the Code. There was no breach
of Clause 4 or Clause 5.
17. The children’s father had supplied images of the
children, and had agreed to their publication. There was no breach of Clause 6.
Conclusions
18. The complaint was not upheld.
Remedial Action Required
N/A
Date complaint received: 22/08/2015
Date decision issued: 11/01/2016