Online news service austriantimes.at reports how the Slovak student whose picture was wrongly displayed as the victim of a murder in Austria has been awarded EUR 20,000 in compensation.
The Austrian newspaper Osterreich that published the article has been ordered by the court to pay 23-yr old Lucia Rehakova from Bratislava the EUR 20,000 in compensation as it used here Facebook picture when reporters confused here with a murdered prostitute.
The newspaper published the picture last summer when Rehakova was on holiday abroad and her picture was selected as she has the exact same name as the victim.
Earlier this week Rehakova made a statement to the media, saying “When I got back from my holiday, several relatives and friends called me to make sure I was okay. I was shocked when I was told what they had read”. Rehakova then claimed for compensation as she could not sleep properly for weeks afterwards and started suffering depression.
Other newspapers republished the article from Osterreich, but they all allegedly made out-of-court settlements with Rehakova.