European Court of Human Rights declares Russian wartime censorship laws illegal

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday that Russian laws rushed through in the early days of the war in Ukraine that prohibit the “discrediting” of the Russian army and the dissemination of “false information” were illegal and violated the right to freedom of expression.

The ECHR said in its press release that the laws, which have been continually used against Russian opposition figures and independent media outlets, revealed “a coordinated effort to suppress dissent”, stressing that Russian courts had essentially criminalised any reporting or statements that contradicted the official government narrative.

The court also found that Russia had illegally blocked access to independent Russian media outlets Novaya Gazeta and Dozhd over their coverage of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in March 2022.

As well as Novaya Gazeta and Dozhd, the 178 other plaintiffs in the case, including Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Muza, anti-war artist Sasha Skochilenko, and jailed journalist Mikhail Afanasyev, were each awarded €7,500 in pecuniary damages.

Nevertheless, despite winning the case, Russia is no longer obliged to comply with ECHR rulings since it withdrew its recognition of the court’s authority in June 2022.