The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Russia for violating freedom of expression and privacy by threatening journalists from the independent media outlet Novaya Gazeta.
Among the claimants were Sergey Kozyurov, one of the founders of Novaya Gazeta, and journalists Elena Milashina and Dmitry Muratov, who shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize with Philippine journalist Maria Ressa for their fight for freedom of expression.
The journalists reported receiving verbal threats after publishing articles in 2017 about the campaign by Chechen authorities against homosexuals. They criticized the Russian authorities for failing to protect them.
Novaya Gazeta, one of the last independent media outlets in Russia, was banned in 2022 following the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The newspaper’s commitment to human rights reporting in Chechnya has cost the lives of several employees, with Anna Politkovskaya being the most well-known victim.
The Court ruled on March 4, finding violations of Article 10 (freedom of expression) and Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights. It concluded that Russian authorities had “tolerated” repeated threats from Chechen officials, subjecting the journalists to potential violence or intimidation.
As a result, Russia was ordered to pay €7,500 to the main claimant and €9,800 to individual claimants for non-material damages and €5,585 for legal costs. Although Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe in March 2022 and is no longer a member of the Convention, it remains accountable for violations committed prior to September 2022.
