RSF hails landmark European Court of Human Rights ruling against Russia and in support of independent media
In the case of Novaya Gazeta v. Russia, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has condemned Russia for abusing the pretext of a "national security threat" to systematically restrict reporting on the war in Ukraine. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcomes this ruling and calls on European states to step up their support for independent Russian media in exile.
This significant win for the right to reliable information was obtained by independent Russian media outlets Novaya Gazeta and TV Dozhd, which brought the case against Russia before the European Court of Human Rights. On 11 February 2025, the Court unanimously condemned Russia for the censorship laws it adopted in the wake of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including a general ban on "discrediting the army." These laws were used to shut down Novaya Gazeta and TV Dozhd and prosecute 178 other claimants, including journalist Dmytro Gordon, whose unjust conviction was condemned by RSF in July 2024. The Court even recognised the existence of "a systemic and widespread pattern of reporting restrictions related to the war in Ukraine, revealing a coordinated effort to suppress dissent rather than counter any threat to national security."
"Since the invasion of 24 February 2022, the Kremlin's well-oiled censorship machine has systematically silenced the independent press across Russian territory and the occupied regions of Ukrainian, repressing anyone who dares to participate — even remotely — in independent coverage of the large-scale aggression. This total censorship, coupled with strategic disinformation and state propaganda, is a pillar of Russia’s information war. We therefore welcome this landmark decision, albeit belated, and call on all European states to take a stand by hosting exiled Russian outlets and providing them with all the resources necessary to continue their free, pluralistic, and independent journalistic work."
However, despite its significance in both scale and content, this landmark ECHR ruling has limited reach. Following its expulsion from the Council of Europe in response to the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Federation ceased to be a party to the European Convention on Human Rights on 16 September 2022. While the Court still has jurisdiction over events that occurred before this date, the Russian parliament has passed laws preventing the enforcement of its rulings. As a result, Russia has ignored the interim measures issued by the Court ordering it to "refrain from blocking or terminating Novaya Gazeta’s activities," leading to another ground of conviction within the same judgment.
RSF has exposed the scale of repression against independent media in Russia through its reports and continues to uncover the mechanisms of Russian propaganda through its project The Propaganda Monitor.
