European Court of Human Rights : Savenko (Limonov) v. Russia

In a case about defamation of the mayor of Moscow the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Savenko (Limonov) v. Russia found that the Russian Federation has violated the applicant’s freedom of expression as guaranteed by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The (alleged) defamatory statements where uttered during a debate on radio and published on the radio station’s website. The ECtHR disagreed with the assessment by the Moscow courts that in a case of defamation the suffering of the elected head of the executive had a much greater value than that of an ordinary citizen. Instead the ECtHR found that prominent political figures, such as the Moscow mayor, should be prepared to accept strongly worded criticism and may not claim the same level of protection as a private individual unknown to the public, especially when the statement did not concern their private life or intrude on their intimacy