Freedom in monetary terms

The European Court of Human Rights obliged Russia to pay compensation for violation of Article 10 of the European Convention - the right to freedom of expression. Decisions on the complaints of Novaya Gazeta and human rights activist Stanislav Dmitrievsky are published on the court website.

The Strasbourg court found that the Russian courts violated the right to freedom of expression when considering claims against Novaya Gazeta in connection with the publications on the death of the Kursk submarine. The complaint was filed against the decision of the Basmann District Court of Moscow under the suit of the chief forensic expert of the Ministry of Defense of Viktor Kolkutin and other experts. In the articles of the Novaya, it was argued that the expert opinion on the death of submariners almost immediately after the explosion on Kursk helped officers of the Navy to evade liability for inadequate rescue operation. In December 2005, the Moscow court ordered the publication to refute the information that defeats the business reputation of Kolkutin. "New Gazeta" paid 50 thousand rubles of compensation, the author of the article Elena Milashina - 7 thousand rubles.

The ECHR saw in the actions of the Russian authorities a violation of Article 10 of the Convention and ordered the government to pay 3400 euros of compensation to the publication and 2170 euros Milashina itself. Russia will also have to cover legal costs.

"Russian courts did not appreciate the important role of free media in a democratic society," the ECHR decision said. It is noted that the courts "proceeded from the assumption that the protection of" honor and dignity "in all cases exceeds the right to freedom of expression."

In addition, the Court's Court ordered Russia to pay more than 13.5 thousand euros to the journalist and human rights activist Stanislav Dmitrievsky. According to the Decree of the ECHR, the decision of Russian courts against Dmitrievsky also violates its right to expression of opinion.

In February 2006, the Soviet District Court of Nizhny Novgorod sentenced Dmitrievsky to 2 years in prison on Part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code (inciting interethnic rake). The journalist was blamed for the publication in the newspaper "Human Rights Protection" of the addresses of the leaders of the Chechen separatists Ahmed Zakayev and Aslan Maskhadov.