A court in Pakistan has ruled that the chief Editor of Norway’s tabloid Verdens Gang (VG) and its reporter Rolf John Widerøe deliberately defamed noted Dubai-based Pakistani origin businessman Umar Farooq Zahoor and conducted a prolonged defamation campaign against him with the intention to harm him. The court has also mandated the duo to pay Rs30 million in damages, along with covering the legal fees incurred by Zahoor and his legal representatives.
Presiding over the protracted defamation case initiated by Zahoor against the VG Chief Editor and reporter Widerøe, Judge Abid Zubair of the Additional District and Session court in Ferozwala determined, based on substantial evidence, that Widerøe and the VG Chief Editor defamed the plaintiff by disseminating a false statement through electronic media, “and the said statement has injured the reputation of the plaintiff and also tends to lower him in the estimation of others to ridicule”.
The court ruling has decreed that both defendants are liable to pay “Rs30 million as damages to the plaintiff including litigation fee”.
The judgment was delivered ex-parte as both the chief editor of Verdens Gang (VG) and its reporter Widerøe declined to engage with the court despite numerous requests, summons, and reminders. Late last year, the same court in Pakistan had declared both as proclaimed offenders due to their deliberate failure to appear before the court for publishing a false and defamatory story concerning businessman Zahoor.
The judgment highlighted that Zahoor “has an impeccable reputation in different business and social circles for his businesslike social and philanthropy work as well as also enjoys respect in the diplomatic community even he earlier represented as Ambassador at Large for other NGOs. It is significant to mention here that the plaintiff has also provided energy solutions to different African countries and also closed transactions to the tune of almost 5-billion dollars in the last one decade in different countries. The plaintiff has also been awarded different honours for his work and has also the privilege of advising the Royal Family in financial discipline”.
The judgment further stated: “The defendants (VG Chief Editor and reporter Rolf John Widerøe) in collusion with each other have been running a malicious campaign against the plaintiff (Umar Farooq Zahoor) since long for his religion and race. It will not be out of place to mention here that the aforementioned VG tabloid is known for publishing anti¬Islam and anti-Pakistan content and the plaintiff has been the victim of the defendants since long as they are pressurising and blackmailing the plaintiff.”
“It is very much clear beyond any doubt that the defendants have always been raising false allegations against the plaintiff without any proof and the same is defamatory. It has also been observed that the defendants always report one-sided which further reflects their ill-intent, malafide and such practice is also against the norms of fair journalism and fair reporting.”
Judge Abid Zubair of the Additional District and Session court in Ferozwala had declared Widerøe and the chief editor as proclaimed offenders through a court declaration published in leading English dailies of Pakistan – following Widerøe and the VG Editor’s failure to respond to earlier notices, which were sent and served in Norway at the tabloid’s address. Both individuals refused to appear before the court and failed to provide any evidence to substantiate their libelous story after the court issued summons in November of the previous year. While Widerøe and the chief editor discussed the Pakistan litigation against them in Norwegian media, they refused to comply with the Pakistani court orders.
Dubai-based business magnate Zahoor sued Verdens Gang (VG) and its reporter Widerøe for publishing a defamatory and vindictive article against him, in which facts were concealed to damage his reputation and his services to Pakistan, which included bringing millions of dollars in direct foreign investment to the country.
Zahoor’s lawyers had accused the tabloid of targeting the businessman “with malicious intent for the last fifteen years by publishing defamatory articles” and of conducting a “witch hunt” for an extended period, asserting that the primary motivation behind orchestrating this false campaign was “islamophobia, racism and your personal score against our client”. Zahoor’s lawyers emphasized that the tabloid’s personalized campaign was biased and Islamophobic as it deliberately concealed key facts while attacking Zahoor. They refuted allegations of fraud by Zahoor in the Nordea Bank Norway fraud case.
However, Verdens Gang’s Chief of Staff Andreas Arnseth stated that the tabloid newspaper had no intention of paying any compensation.
According to a report published in the Journalisten magazine, Arnseth said: “We do not recognise the proceedings in Pakistan, and dispute that they have jurisdiction in this case. Nor have we been served with the judgment, as international law requires.”
