Lawsuit (SLAPP)
Catherine Bohne TOKA - The Organization to Conserve the Albanian Alps
Sources
TOKA, The Organization to Conserve the Albanian Alps, was founded in June 2016 in Tirana and Valbona Valley National Park, Albania, with founding members from the local community, biologists, tourism experts, and other supporters. TOKA is one of the leading groups opposing the plans for fourteen Hydro Power Projects (HPPs) along the Valbona River, which runs through Valbona Valley National Park in the Albanian Alps. TOKA members and other individuals have reported facing constant pressure due to their opposition. Gener 2 brought a defamation claim (defined in the Albanian law as an indemnity claim) against TOKA and its director, Catherine Bohne, personally, for approximately 150,000 Euros for "waging a denigrating campaign against Gener 2 and Dragobia Energy, including through making defamatory public statements" and for "damages done to their reputations". The Tirana District Court dismissed the lawsuit. However, the company has filed an appeal at the Tirana Court of Appeal, where the case is pending, as of July 2019.