ECHR upholds Russian media's lawsuit over ban on reporting on war in Ukraine

ECHR upholds lawsuit by Russian «Novaya Gazeta» and others against Russia over laws introduced after full-scale invasion of Ukraine, punishing «discrediting the army» or «fake news» about the army.

This is reported in the ECHR press release.

The ECHR concluded that the Russian authorities violated the right to freedom of speech by prohibiting them from departing from the official Russian narrative in covering Moscow's war against Ukraine.

It is noted that 178 individual plaintiffs in this case were convicted under the new legislation in criminal or administrative proceedings, and «Novaya Gazeta» and the TV channel «Dozhd» were banned in Russia.

«In today's Chamber decision in this case, the European Court of Human Rights unanimously held that (the actions of the Russian authorities in relation to the applicants – ed.) there was a violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights», – the press release states.

The Court concluded that there were systemic restrictions on reporting on the Russian-Ukrainian war, reflecting coordinated efforts by the Russian authorities that were more akin to suppressing dissenting opinions than to preventing real threats to national security.

«In essence, the domestic courts criminalized any messages or statements that contradicted the official narrative describing the invasion of Ukraine as a «SVO», – the statement said.

The judges also unanimously concluded that there had been a violation of Article 34 of the ECHR in the matter of the termination of the license of «Novaya Gazeta» and its blocking, despite the interim measures ordered by the court.

In addition, the judges found a number of violations of the Convention in respect of five individual applicants, in particular Article 3 on the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment, Article 5 on the right to liberty and security, Article 8 concerning respect for private and family life.

The Court ruled that Russia must pay the applicants 7,500 euros (or the smaller amount actually claimed) in compensation for non-pecuniary damage and 850 euros in compensation for legal costs and expenses.

As Ukrinform reported, the European Court of Human Rights had previously considered several dozen complaints alleging violations of the rights of Russian applicants and awarded compensation to participants in protests against the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine.