Daniel Iny wins defamation case
The Columbo Telegraph reports that the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has ordered Rohan Gunaratna, who is known as a terrorism expert, to pay the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) $53,000 in a defamation judgment.
Gunaratna was quoted in a news report as saying: “The LTTE is operating under the name of the Canadian Tamil Congress, which is the main LTTE front organization in Canada” and had claimed that the Canadian government is investigating the CTC.
The CTC, represented by Daniel Iny, sued Gunaratna for defamation for linking it to the LTTE (the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam). The Superior Court held that Gunaratna’s statements “were clearly defamatory, either directly or by innuendo, because they imply CTC is involved in the commission of violent and illegal activity” and further that: “It is unequivocal and uncontroverted that these statements were, in fact, false and untrue.” The Court ordered Gunaratna to pay the CTC $37,000 in damages and $16,000 in legal costs.
After the verdict, Daniel Iny observed that, “For a not-for-profit organization like CTC, its reputation is its lifeblood and its currency. The Court’s decision was an affirmation for CTC and its supporters in its recognition that Gunaratna’s words were plainly defamatory of CTC.”
You can read the Columbo Telegraph story here.
The Toronto Star also covered the story here.