A primary school teacher from Semey has won compensation for slander after being publicly accused of alcohol abuse, the website infohub.kz reports.
The inter-district civil court in Semey considered the teacher's lawsuit seeking protection of honor, dignity, and business reputation, as well as compensation for moral harm. The case was triggered by a voice message sent to the school principal and statements made during a meeting with the teaching staff. The defendant allegedly claimed that the teacher regularly abused alcohol, came to work smelling of alcohol, and 'goes on drinking binges after lunch'.
In court, the teacher demanded that these statements be declared false, that the defendant retract them, apologize, and pay moral damages. The court found that the defendant did not provide evidence supporting the truth of her statements. A forensic psychological and linguistic examination confirmed that the disseminated information was defamatory, was disclosed to third parties, and was false.
'The defendant did not provide evidence confirming the veracity of the disseminated information. The court established the conditions for protecting honor, dignity, and business reputation: the information was spread to third parties, was defamatory, and did not correspond to reality,' the court said.
Under the court ruling, the defendant must retract the false statements and apologize to the teacher in the presence of the school principal and the vice principal for academic affairs. The court partially upheld the claim for moral damages and awarded court costs. The decision has not yet taken legal effect.
Earlier, the publication Kursiv reported that a Kazakh woman had to prove her incapacity in order to reclaim her housing. The defendants in that case were two notaries and three relatives.