BDS Austria against Municipality of Vienna recognised as Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation by Coalition Against SLAPPs In Europe 

The legal action initiated by the Municipality of Vienna against an activist member of BDS Austria has now been officially recognised as a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) by CASE, a coalition of non-governmental organisations across Europe united in recognition of the threat posed to public watchdogs by SLAPPs. The coalition has, for instance, recently classified lawsuits by Shell against Greenpeace as SLAPP. 

A SLAPP consists of an abusive court proceeding pursued to harass and intimidate activists and civil society on matters of public interest. By exploiting an imbalance of power between the parties, the goal of a SLAPP is accomplished if the defendant is compelled by fear, financial strain, intimidation, or exhaustion to cease their critique or advocacy. In April 2024, the European Union adopted Directive  2024/1069 to protect victims of SLAPPs across the region. 

Amidst the 2021 unified Palestinian uprising against Israel’s apartheid regime, the Municipality of Vienna filed a Strategic Lawsuit against Public Participation (SLAPP) against a member of BDS Austria for sharing online a picture of the famous poster “Visit Apartheid”. In line with the Municipality’s anti-democratic anti-BDS resolution, this lawsuit is part of a larger strategy to intimidate BDS Austria and rights advocates through systematically repressing their fundamental rights to free speech and freedom of assembly.  
 

To add to its shameful affront to democracy and rights, the Municipality of Vienna later proposed a settlement requesting the activist to pay 17.000 euros – the total amount of damages previously asked, includinglegal fees. Additionally, the Municipality demands that the activist refrain from claiming  it had brought “SLAPP suits” against BDS. Against this backdrop, this official recognition by CASE is an important success for the activists who have been facing legal challenges since 2021 and are still in legal proceedings as the Municipality of Vienna refuses to give up on their unreasonable claims. The case is currently pending before the Austrian Supreme Court. 

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