The Estonian Human Rights Centre is calling for support for Miia, who has been fighting a court battle for five years. As a student at a sports school, Miia confidentially informed her school director about alleged sexual harassment she had experienced. In response, her coach filed a defamation lawsuit against her, demanding that she retract her statements and pay damages. The legal battle has been long, exhausting and costly.

In July 2020, Miia – then a minor – reported the alleged harassment by her coach to the school director. In April 2021, after Miia had reached adulthood, the coach sued her in civil court, claiming that she had made false factual statements and seeking compensation for alleged harm.

This is a so-called “defamation case.” Such cases are handled in civil court, which means, among other things, that the alleged victim of harassment must sit in the courtroom together with the alleged harasser and may have to give testimony in their presence. For the Estonian Human Rights Centre, this is a strategic case. The organisation considers the use of defamation provisions against people who report harassment to be a dangerous trend.

“We are supporting Miia’s legal journey to ensure that so-called defamation lawsuits do not become a tool for silencing victims in Estonia,” explains Egert Rünne, head of the Estonian Human Rights Centre. “If speaking out about harassment can lead to an expensive lawsuit, victims may be discouraged from standing up for their rights.”

In August 2022, Tartu County Court ruled that defamation provisions do not apply to informing a school director about harassment. The court clarified that a school director is not a random third party but someone who, by the nature of their role, has a responsibility to deal with such cases. In May 2023, Tartu Circuit Court upheld this part of the decision, and it has now entered into force.

However, the legal proceedings did not end there. Two issues remain in dispute. First, whether Miia was allowed to share her experience with her boyfriend, who supported her emotionally and encouraged her to approach the director, or whether she should pay compensation for non-material damage for doing so. Second, whether Miia can be held responsible for a 2021 article in Eesti Päevaleht that reported on the court case initiated by the coach and described the alleged harassment. The coach claims that the media coverage caused him damage for which Miia should be liable. The Circuit Court referred these questions back to Tartu County Court for reconsideration.

According to Meris Velling, attorney at the law firm Liverte representing Miia, the continuation of the dispute is extraordinary and deeply unfair. “Damage to reputation presupposes the dissemination of information about another person in a way that aims at or results in making it public. Court practice has confirmed that courts do not interfere in private communication between two individuals. No victim should fear a ‘defamation claim’ for speaking to a psychologist or another trusted person. The fact that Miia shared her experience with her boyfriend cannot justify a claim for compensation,” Velling explains. Nor can Miia be held responsible for media reporting on a public court case initiated by the coach himself, especially since he did not request closed proceedings. Court hearings have been, and remain, open to the public.

After nearly two and a half years of procedural standstill, the case will now continue before Tartu County Court. The dispute, which has lasted five years, has brought prolonged uncertainty and emotional strain. It is unacceptable that a young person, whose only “fault” was speaking about her experience, has had to begin her adult life in this way.

Please help support Miia. Donate to help cover the legal costs and ensure that speaking out about harassment does not become grounds for punishment.