Moldova-based newspaper wins in Strasbourg

The Chisinau-based “Flux” newspaper has won on Tuesday, June 12, a case at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which found that the final judgement issued by a domestic court in 2003 had violated the rights of the newspaper. In 1999, Valeriu Matei, the then Vice Speaker of Parliament and president of the Democratic Forces Party brought a civil defamation action against “Flux”, after the newspaper published an article in which gen. Nicolae Alexei accused Matei of protecting a mafia gang. According to the ECHR judgement, although the article contained a word-by-word account of a televised broadcast, the domestic court ordered the newspaper to pay Valeriu Matei MDL 3,600. ECHR held today that there has been a violation of Article 10 of the European Convention (right to freedom of expression), and obliged the Government of Moldova to pay the publication EUR 3,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage, EUR 260 – pecuniary damage, and EUR 1,200 – costs and expenses. To date, the Moldovan Government lost over 60 cases at ECHR and was obliged to pay damages exceeding 700,000 euros.