The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) delivered a judgment in the case of Lobacheva and Others v. Russia, which consolidated seven applications concerning various restrictions on freedom of expression in Russia. The Court found violations of Article 10 of the Convention in all cases, where applicants were convicted under Russian law for allegedly extremist activities. The Court examined cases where applicants were convicted for different forms of expression, including distribution of leaflets criticizing Putin, posting videos about investigations into officials’ assets, publishing photos of Ukrainian military units, and making social media posts. The penalties ranged from administrative fines to prison sentences of up to 9 years. The key findings of the Court were:
- The Court maintained jurisdiction over these cases as the events occurred before Russia’s exit from the Convention (September 16, 2022)
- Russian courts provided inadequate safeguards against overly broad interpretation of the concept of ‘extremism’
- The domestic courts failed to examine the cases in light of ECHR case-law principles
- Each applicant was awarded 7,500 euros in compensation for non-pecuniary damage
The Court’s decision is particularly significant as it addresses the systematic issue of Russia’s broad interpretation of extremism laws to restrict freedom of expression. The judgment references the earlier case of Taganrog LRO and Others v. Russia, where similar violations were found regarding the overly broad definition of extremism in Russian law.
