Sentencing a journalist for defamation of a local politician. Violation of freedom of expression
JUDGMENT
Paraskevopoulos v. Greece 28.6.2018 (no. 64184/11)
SUMMARY
Mr Paraskevopoulos wrote a newspaper article in December 2007 accusing people who had become involved in politics of abusing their position by, among other things, obstructing public land next to their own property by planting trees on it and by building a gazebo that jutted on to the land. The head of the local council took him to court for defamation.The applicant was convicted on a criminal and civil basis, because according to national law, although the facts mentioned in the article were accurate, the way they were expressed was insulting. The ECtHR ruled that freedom of expression has been violated.
PROVISION
Article 10
PRINCIPAL FACTS
The applicant, Panagiotis Paraskevopoulos, is a Greek national who was born in 1964 and lives in Thessaloniki (Greece).
The case concerned his complaint about being found guilty of insulting the head of the local council.
Mr Paraskevopoulos wrote a newspaper article in December 2007 accusing people who had become involved in politics of abusing their position by, among other things, obstructing public land next to their own property by planting trees on it and by building a gazebo that jutted on to the land. The head of the local council took him to court for defamation.
In July 2010 the Court of Appeal ultimately found that it was clear that he had been speaking of the head of the local council, found him guilty of insult via the press and sentenced him to a two-month suspended prison sentence. The courts rejected his argument that he had raised a legitimate issue of public interest which was also true. In particular, the appeal court found that even though the facts reported in the article were accurate, the way he had expressed himself had been insulting.
The head of the council also sued him for damages and in July 2014 she was awarded 2,500 euros.
Relying on Article 10 (freedom of expression), Mr Paraskevopoulos complained that his criminal conviction for remarks about a local politician included in an article published in a local newspaper had violated his right to freedom of expression.
THE DECISION OF THE COURT
Violation of Article 10
Just satisfaction: EUR 7,000 (non-pecuniary damage) and EUR 5,655 (costs and expenses)(echrcaselaw.com editing).
