aqumada

According to the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA), several EPRDF government officials are suing four Ethiopians living in America for defaming their character via "Tensae Ethiopia Voice of Unity Radio". You can read the complete article at the bottom of this blog.

I never thought that foreign governments and agents of foreign governments could sue immigrants in foreign courts. I posted a question regarding this in one of the legal forums and here is the response I received.

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> Background

> Several officials of the Ethiopian government are suing an

> Ethio-American radio station based in Washington DC for defamation of

> character. It is possible that the radio station may have committed

> what is claimed. Most likely, however, the motive of the Ethiopian

> government is to silence the opposition voices in diaspora (mainly in

> the US).

> Questions

> 1.  Is there any precedence for such cases? Is it possible for a

> foreign government or officials of a foreign government to sue

> individuals who may be US citizens or legal aliens in US courts?

Short answer: Sure, why not?

Longer answer:

Several requirements must be met to sue someone.

First, the court must have "subject-matter jurisdiction."  That is, the

court must have the authority to adjudicate the issue that the suit is

about.  Suits between people of different states, or suits based on

federal claims, are properly in federal court.  Suits based on state

claims, or common law actions, or (almost) everything else, are properly

in state courts.  You didn't say what court the suit is being filed in.

Second, the court must have "personal jurisdiction" over the defendant.  

That is, the court must have the authority to call the defendant to

answer for the suit.  This can be based on the defendant living in the

jurisdiction, doing business there, taking a benefit from the

jurisdiction, etc.  (This is a whole aspect of law unto itself).  But

there is *NO* concept of personal jurisdiction over the plaintiff, which

is what you seem to be asking.  If a defendant committed a wrong of some

sort, any wronged party can go to any court that has jurisdiction (both

kinds) over the defendant and file a lawsuit.

That leads to the last basic requirement, the only one that affects the

plaintiff - standing.  To sue, the plaintiff must have suffered some

actual injury or some negative consequences of the defendant's actions.  

They can't sue, for example, to enforce someone else's rights, collect

damages for another's injury, etc.  But it sounds like this isn't an

issue here, either.

> 2. The media in Ethiopia is government controlled and a propaganda tool

> for the government. Can Ethiopians in the US (Ethio-Americans) file a

> similar suit against the Ethiopian government in US courts?

If the US court has jurisdiction over both the Ethiopian government and

the subject-matter of the suit.  (See above). There's an entire field of

law dealing with whether foreign countries can be sued in US courts.  To

call it complex is an understatement.

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Follow up question

>Thank you for the nice explanation. I will try to get more details on the case and post more nformation. Meanwhile, I have one more question. What is going to stop foreign governments(who may have unlimited resources) from using the law to intimidate and silence dissidents who live in the US? Is there some sort of legal check for this? A threat of a lawsuit alone would be enough to silence many dissidents (even if the plaintiff does not have a solid case).

Frivolous suits can be thrown out, and the lawyers who bring a knowingly frivolous suit can be sanctioned.  Also, its probably not worth it for the foreign governments.  

Think about it - Would a country set up an office in the US, hire a US
law firm, and file lawsuits against US citizens who criticize their
government?  It would cost far more than they'd win in the suits or
settlements, it would be a worldwide P.R. disaster, and they probably
have bigger issues to deal with in their own country.

Here is the original report from ENA