Kapuściński daughter loses case against her father's biographer

The court dismissed the lawsuit filed by Rene Maisner against Domosławski.

In May, the same court ruled that Domosławski should apologise to the widow of the writer as part of a separate lawsuit. Domosławski the judge said would have to apologise to the claimant by mail, and the book could only be republished without the sections on the private life of the writer.

The plenipotentiaries of the plaintiff said they would analyse the written grounds of the judgment and consider whether to appeal.

Maisner, who lives in Canada, in a separate case sued Domosławski for infringement of her right to privacy.

The widow of the writer, Alicja, stressed that Domosławski had no right to write about their personal lives and "was not authorised to write about her daughter."

Domosławski requested the court dismiss both claims, arguing that it violated the personal rights of the plaintiffs. "It seems to me that you cannot write a real biography of any person and at the same time not make anyone upset," he said.

Kapuściński, who died in 2007, was a Polish reporter, journalist, traveller, photographer, poet and writer whose dispatches in book form brought him a global reputation.

Since its publication in Polish in 2010, three years after Kapuściński‘s death, and in English two years ago, Domosławski’s biography of the legendary Polish journalist has raised many questions.

The revelations about the writer's private life included various extra-marital affairs. Domosławski has said the book needed to cover the private sphere of Kapuściński's life in order to give a rounded picture of the man. The book also examined Kapuściński's alleged links to the communist-era secret services and the veracity of many of Kapuściński's factual claims as a journalist. (jh/rk)