ECtHR obliges Russia to pay compensation to Novocherkassk journalist

Elena Nadtoka, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Chastnaya Lavochka" (Private Shop), has succeeded to achieve the recognition of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) that the Russian authorities violated her right to freedom of expression. The ECtHR has obliged the Russian authorities to pay Elena Nadtoka the amount of 5992 euro in connection with the sentence pronounced against her 12 years ago, when she was fined for sharp criticism of the Mayor of Novocherkassk.

Elena Nadtoka was fined for the article published in 2004 in the newspaper "Vecherny Novocherkassk", where she then worked as the editor-in-chief. According to the court, in the article, Anatoly Volkov, the then City Mayor, was called a "light-fingered man from Altai, who took a comfortable high chair."

Despite the fact that the linguistic expertise did not found insults in the text of the article, its author Natalia Andreevskaya was fined 10,000 roubles, and Elena Nadtoka 50,000 roubles, reports the website "Mediaconflictsinrussia.org".

On May 31, following the results of the consideration of the Elena Nadtoka's case, the ECtHR recognized that during the trial on the case of the article, the Russian authorities violated with regard to Elena Nadtoka Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights ("Freedom of expression").

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.