Facebook user, ordered by the court of first instance to issue a public apology for defaming the journalist Vitalie Călugăreanu

The Criuleni Court partially upheld a civil lawsuit filed by journalist Vitalie Călugăreanu against Boris Cerlat on Tuesday, November 3, over several comments posted on Facebook. The court found the statements to be false, defamatory and insulting, and ordered the defendant to retract them, issue a public apology and pay the journalist 10,000 Moldovan lei in moral damages.

According to the ruling, the case concerned the protection of the journalist’s honour, dignity and professional reputation following comments posted by Boris Cerlat on Vitalie Călugăreanu’s personal Facebook page, starting on April 18, 2026.

Among the statements deemed defamatory by the court were allegations concerning the journalist’s alleged political affiliation, lack of impartiality and biased selection of topics of public interest. The comments also contained offensive and degrading language directed at him.

The court ordered Boris Cerlat to publish and keep visible on the same Facebook page two separate messages: a retraction of the defamatory statements and a public apology for the insults directed at the journalist.

According to the wording of the retraction established by the court, the defendant must acknowledge that his statements damaged Vitalie Călugăreanu’s honour, dignity and professional reputation, that they were false and lacked a sufficient factual basis, and undertake not to disseminate them again.

In the public apology, Boris Cerlat must also acknowledge that the language he used was offensive, insulting and degrading, and was unrelated to legitimate criticism or a debate on matters of public interest.

The court also ordered the defendant to pay 10,000 lei in moral damages and reimburse legal costs totalling 11,400 lei. These include 10,000 lei for legal assistance, 1,200 lei in court fees and 200 lei in stamp duty.

The Independent Journalism Center provided legal assistance to journalist Vitalie Călugăreanu in this case. He was represented in court by lawyer Nicolae Frumosu and trainee lawyer Danu Tartus.

Contacted by Media Azi, Danu Tartus clarified that the partial approval of the lawsuit concerned exclusively the reimbursement of legal assistance costs, while the claims seeking recognition of the defamatory nature of the statements, their retraction and a public apology were upheld in full.

“I believe that today’s ruling confirms the importance of protecting honour, dignity and professional reputation. Freedom of expression is a fundamental right, but exercising it also entails responsibility. Criticism of public figures, including journalists, is natural and necessary in a democratic society, but it must be based on arguments and a sufficient factual basis, without turning into personal attacks, insults or statements that damage a person’s reputation,” the trainee lawyer told Media Azi.

The ruling was delivered by Judge Dorin Cazacu and may be appealed to the Court of Appeal within 30 days of its pronouncement.