Volgograd journalist beat Russia at European Court

On December 14, the European Court for Human Rights ruled that the judicial authorities of the Russian Federation had encroached on the right of Anatoly Karman, former editor-in-chief of the "Gorodskie Vesti" (City News) newspaper (Volgograd), for the freedom of expression, stipulated by Article 10 of the European Convention on Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The Court ruled to collect 1000 euros in favour of the applicant from the Russian Federation, runs a message of the Fund for Glasnost Protection received by the editorial board of the "Caucasian Knot."

The pretext for the complaint was the judgement of the Sovietskiy District Court of Volgograd dated August 10, 2001, which satisfied the claim for protection of honour and dignity of Stanislav Terentyev, editor of the "Kolokol" (Bell) newspaper to the "Gorodskie Vesti" Concern and Anatoly Karman.

The motive for the claim was the article "In Blind Frenzy," published in the "Gorodskie Vesti" newspaper in September 1994, in which Terentyev was called "a local neo-fascist."

The "Kolokol" newspaper was systematically publishing extremist and anti-Semitic materials. Terentyev quoted Hitler with no hesitation. He had asserted in his claim that his characterization had nothing to do with reality and discredited him.