Author and publisher point fingers at each other at trial over violation of PM's privacy

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Kari Ojala, the publisher of a kiss-and-tell book by Susan Ruusunen on her relationship with Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) traded accusations with Ruusunen on Friday at a trial in which both defended themselves against charges of violating Vanhanen's right to privacy.
      The trial was historic: the Prime Minister himself took the witness stand to describe the feelings sparked by his former girlfriend's book.
      Ruusunen and Ojala had conflicting versions of the events that led to the publication of the book.
     
Ruusunen said that she had been offered a fee of EUR 30,000 for the book, which Ojala denied. Ruusunen got EUR 7,000 for the book.
      Ojala said that he had considered cancelling the project because of the controversy that had been generated, but that he project was nevertheless important for Ruusunen.
      This made Ruusunen gasp with disbelief. She said that the publisher specifically wanted a book about "sex and politics".
      During the preliminary investigation she told police that the publisher had asked to see the SMS messages sent by Vanhanen, which she was reluctant todo. She said that she showed some of them, and later, after being pressured by Ojala, provided more. Ojala denied placing any pressure on Ruusunen.
     
The main issue at the trial is the degree to which the Prime Minister has a right to have his privacy protected.
      Ojala says that his book serves a valuable social purpose: reporting on a politicians persona is, in his view, "consumer education for voters".
      Vanhanen and his lawyer Petteri Sotamaa had highlighted excerpts from the book which the Prime Minister had taken offence to. The extracts described Vanhanen's home and his relationship with Ruusunen.
      The publisher's defence lawyer Zacharias Sundström ridiculed some of the chosen extracts. Included were descriptions of Vanhanen's cats.
      Sotamaa countered that while the content of the information about the book is not necessarily hurtful, their unauthorised dissemination is. Sotamaa and Vanhanen frequently appealed to the fact that Vanhanen is known for being very protective of his privacy.
      "I have never liked the American style of campaigning", Vanhanen said, referring to the practice of bringing a candidate's family out into public eye.
      As Vanhanen sees it, the aim of the book was to make a profit. The book had made him a target of derision, and had he felt hurt by the publication of the information.
     
Defence Lawyer Sundström maintained that politicians do not have privacy protection, "and they shouldn't have".
      In his view, Vanhanen is meticulous in getting only the kind of publicity that he wants - the kind that supports his political career.
      Sundström even brought out an example of this in the book Poliittinen ihminen ("Political Person") in which Vanhanen says that he has systematically prepared himself for more demanding tasks, and has tried not to wear himself out in public.
      In addition, Sundström noted that Vanhanen himself has brought his private life into the public eye in newspaper interviews, books, and his own blog.
      As he sees it, matters that have been brought out in public cannot be pushed back into the realm of privacy protection, even if discussion on them moves in a different direction than desired.
     
Ruusunen's lawyer Riitta Leppiniemi noted that talking about a relationship is not hurtful as such.
      "If we write that a couple has a sauna, eats, and makes love on a Saturday, it is so ordinary that it cannot cause anguish", she says.
      At the end of the trial, Ojala's legal counsel, Sundström and Antti Karanko, presented a bill for EUR 47,944 to Vanhanen and the state. Sotamaa wants Ojala to pay EUR 6,344. Leppiniemi's demand was EUR 4,727.
     
If the process is drawn out to the very end, a final decision might come just a few months before the Parliamentary elections of 2011.
      The verdict of Helsinki District Court should come out in early March this year, but it will end there only if there are no appeals.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Vanhanen-Kuronen court case begins (15.2.2008)
  Susan´s book sets off a media feeding-frenzy (7.2.2007)

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