The ECHR awarded compensation to a journalist for a fine imposed due to an article about the NBP in 2007

On June 15, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordered Russia to pay 7,500 euros in compensation to journalist Olga Kurnosova, who was fined 1,000 rubles in 2007 for publishing an article mentioning the National Bolshevik Party (NBP). This was reported by the information and analytical center "Sova".

In April 2007, the world court found the journalist guilty under the article on violation of the "rally" legislation (Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses) and imposed a fine of a thousand rubles on the eve of the "March of Dissent". The administrative case was opened because of the special issue of the newspaper "Petersburg, forward!" dated April 5, 2007, of which Kurnosova was the managing editor. The issue published an article by Andrey Dmitriev, head of the St. Petersburg branch of the NBP, who called for joining the March of Dissent.

The court explained the imposition of the fine by the fact that Kurnosova allegedly attracted members of the NBP, that is, an organization whose activities were suspended by the prosecutor's office, to participate in the protest. At the same time, the party itself was recognized as extremist only on April 19, 2007, after the release of the special issue.

The ECtHR noted that the Russian court violated the journalist's right to freedom of expression. The Russian legislation, the ECHR concluded, at that time contained a ban on participation in actions against extremist organizations, but this ban did not apply to those organizations whose activities had so far only been suspended.