In a unanimous ruling handed down on Tuesday 11 February, the European Court of Human Rights condemned Russia for the existence of “a systemic and widespread pattern of reporting restrictions related to the war in Ukraine, revealing a coordinated effort to suppress dissent rather than counter any threat to national security”.
The application was filed by 178 individuals and two media organisations, the Novaya Gazeta newspaper and the Dojd TV channel.
The Court found numerous violations of the European Convention on Human Rights: violations of freedom of expression, of the right of individual application, of the prohibition of inhumane and degrading treatment during trials in which the persons concerned were locked in a metal cage or cramped cubicle, and violations of the right to respect for private and family life due to unjustified searches.
Excluded from the Council of Europe in March 2022, Russia remains accountable for violations committed up to September of that year.
Link to the judgment: https://aeur.eu/f/ffo (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)