As Russia prosecutes more online hate speech than ever, its first convict wins on appeal in Strasbourg

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in favor of Savva Terentyev, the first Internet user in Russia ever convicted of extremism for a comment posted online, finding that Russian courts violated his freedom of expression by sentencing him to a year’s probation for writing in February 2007 that “it would be nice to burn crooked cops.”

The ECHR declined to award Terentyev any non-pecuniary damages, determining that its verdict is sufficient “moral compensation.” Russia will, however, have to pay him 5,000 euros ($5,850) in compensation for legal fees.