In 2017 https://slippedisc.com/2017/06/exclusive-opera-critic-is-hit-with10000-euro-libel-fine/ that the Romanian critic Alexandru Patrascu, a contributor to the London-based Opera magazine, lost a libel case brought against him by the conductor Tiberiu-Ionuț Soare, ex-head of Bucharest National Opera, and the soprano Irina Iordăchescu. He was ordered to pay 10,000 Euros in damages, plus costs.
Yesterday, the European Court of Human Rights ruled unanimously that there had been a violation of ECHR Article 10 (freedom of expression) on account of the applicant’s conviction for statements made by him on his Facebook page.
The Court held that Romania must pay the applicant 2,853 euros in respect of pecuniary damage, EUR 7,800 in respect of non-pecuniary damage and EUR 6,152.33 in respect of costs and expenses.
A distinction was made between what Alexandru Patrascu wrote on his Facebook page and the comments by others who posted beneath it.
Full back story here.
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