Online Defamation and Insult
A Facebook post accusing a neighbour of theft, a TikTok clip mocking a named woman, a pile of comments calling an official corrupt. Matters like these often end up before an investigating judge. The office of Ali Barakat in al-Yarmouk, Baghdad, explains how Iraqi law separates defamation from insult and when a post counts as public.
Defamation: a specific fact
Article 433 of Penal Code No. 111 of 1969 rests on two elements: a particular act attributed to the person, and publicity. It is enough that the act would be punishable if true, or would lower the person in people's eyes. Writing that someone "took a bribe on such-and-such a transaction" is defamation. The article raises the penalty where defamation is published in newspapers, printed material or other media.
Insult: degrading words without a fact
Article 434 covers whatever damages honour or standing or wounds feelings without attributing a particular act, such as abuse and degrading labels. The penalty is detention of up to a year, a fine, or both, aggravated where published through the media.
When a post is public
Article 19 counts among the means of publicity the press and other means of advertising and publication, writing and pictures that are distributed or displayed, and words broadcast mechanically so that outsiders hear them. A public post, or one in a large open group, comes close to this. A private message to the person himself, or a phone call with him, falls under article 435, which covers defamation or insult made face to face without publicity, by phone or in writing sent to the victim, with a lighter penalty.
Proving the truth
As a rule the defamer may not prove that what he said is true. The exception in article 433(2): where the target is a public servant, holds a representative public role or handles public interests, and the statement relates to that role, proving all of it removes the offence. Someone who posts about an official's corruption carries the burden of proving everything he said, not part of it.
Cases with no offence
Article 436 removes liability for what a party or his lawyer says while defending rights before courts and investigating bodies within what the defence needs, and exempts from penalty someone who insults or defames in anger immediately after an unjust attack on him.
The complaint and its deadline
Article 3 of the Criminal Procedure Code makes proceedings for defamation and insult depend on the victim's complaint, unless the target is a public servant attacked in or because of his duties, in which case proceedings start without one. Article 6 bars a complaint made more than three months after the victim learned of the offence. Article 4 accepts a complaint from any one of several victims, and treats a complaint against one accused as covering the others, such as people who reposted the same content.
Reposts and comments
Reposting a defamatory post attributes the fact to the person again before a new audience. Comments adding insults may be separate insults. The court decides each case by what each person added. Where the post came from a fake account, see Impersonation and fake accounts.
Compensation
Article 205 of Civil Code No. 40 of 1951 extends compensation to non-material harm from attacks on honour, reputation or social standing, and the claim may be joined to the criminal case under article 10 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Legal basis and sources
- Penal Code No. 111 of 1969 (Official Gazette No. 1778 of 15/12/1969) — Articles 19, 433, 434, 435 and 436
- Criminal Procedure Code No. 23 of 1971 (Official Gazette No. 2004 of 31/5/1971) — Articles 3, 4, 6 and 10
- Civil Code No. 40 of 1951 (Official Gazette No. 3015 of 8/9/1951) — Article 205
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between defamation and insult?
Defamation attributes a specific fact publicly; insult is degrading language without a specific fact (articles 433 and 434).
Is an offensive private message an offence?
Yes. Article 435 covers it with a lighter range than public defamation or insult.
Can I prove that what I posted is true?
Only where the target is a public servant and the post concerns his work, under article 433.
Related topics and articles
- 01Reporter Liability and Publication during InvestigationThe limits on someone who files a complaint or posts about a case under investigation in Iraq: false reporting under article 243, protection for good-faith reporters, and banned publication under articles 235 and 236.
- 02Impersonation and Fake AccountsFake accounts and online impersonation under Iraqi law: impersonating a public office, fraud by false name, forgery and fake official letters, and defamation from fake accounts.
- 03Electronic Evidence before the Investigating CourtHow screenshots, chats and recordings are presented to an investigating judge in Iraq: the court's conviction, technical expertise, production orders, electronic document conditions and preserving evidence.
- 04Online Threats and ExtortionHow the Iraqi Penal Code handles threats and extortion by phone and social media: articles 430, 431, 432 and 452, the complaint and its deadline, preserving evidence, and reconciliation.
- 05Publishing Private Photos and ChatsPublishing private photos and chats without consent under article 438 of the Iraqi Penal Code: private life, disclosing messages and calls, professional secrets, the complaint and compensation.