, a violation of her right to a public trial and a violation of her right to freedom of expression.
4. By a decision of 9 December 2004, the Court declared the application partly admissible.
5. The Government, but not the applicant, filed observations on the merits (Rule 59 § 1).
THE FACTS
I. The circumstances of the case
6. The applicant was born in 1970 and lives in Yekaterinburg. At the material time she was a journalist and the editor-in-chief of the newspaper D.S.P. ("D.S.P." is a Russian abbreviation meaning "For Official Use Only").
7. In late September 2001 the applicant's newspaper published in the same issue several items concerning the large-scale misappropriation of budgetary funds allegedly committed by Mr V., the head of the Sverdlovsk Regional Government, for the benefit of Mr K., an employee of the Moscow representative office of the Sverdlovsk Region.
8. The first article, entitled "Gay scandal in the White House" ("Гей-скандал в "Белом доме""), appeared under the name of "Sergey Petrov". It opened with the following passage:
"Once upon a time there lived the head of the Sverdlovsk Regional Government Mr V. He had everything: his position, high esteem and respect. And also the governor's love.
But V. fell in love... not with the governor or with his work, but with a twenty-five year-old employee of the region's representative office in Moscow, Mr K.
How does one become a homosexual? Where does this "love" come from?
We are simple unsophisticated people... And we cannot imagine the scene that took place between them in the sumptuous building of the region's representative office in Moscow... Rumour has it that the governor, on having learnt certain details, was furious... and even fired K. from his position.
But love, as we know, can overcome any obstacle. It finds not only a time, but also a place."
9. The article further asserted that, under the terms of an order signed by Mr V. in 1997, the regional railway company had extinguished its outstanding regional tax liability by purchasing a three-room flat in Moscow:
"The flat was bought in Moscow at the following address: 9 Orshanskaya St., building 1, flat no....
Initially the flat was even entered in the Government's balance sheet. However, after a while V. made a gift of the flat... No, please do not think that he gave it to Mr K... [He gave it] to Mr K.'s father. Apparently, as a "thank-you" for the upbringing of his son..."
10. The author concluded in the following manner:
"It might have been a private matter if it were not for two "buts".
[Firstly,] two public figures, rather than private individuals, were linked together by Shakespearean passions in this story. In the instant case: the head of the Sverdlovsk regional government, V., and a member of the regional parliament, K...
Secondly, the flat was purchased at our expense, at the expense of our budget. Two billion roubles disappeared in 1997 into thin air. To date there has been no reimbursement or sanctions on the part of the tax authorities. The [character from a well-known Soviet picaresque novel] blushed a lot as he was stealing official property, but his like-minded accomplice V. never blushes.
And yet, to this day the entire budget of the region is channelled through his hands. How can we ensure that he handles that money honestly?"
11. On the left-hand column of the page the newspaper reproduced the text of a letter which the deputy director of the Sverdlovsk regional police had sent to the chairman of the Sverdlovsk regional audit commission. The police officer informed the auditor that the police were investigating the mechanism which involved extinguishing tax liabilities by acquiring a flat in Moscow, and asked the experts
> 1 2 3 ... 10 11 12 ... 17 18 19
Zaki.ru законы и право
поиск по сайту
каталог документов
добавить сайт Zaki.ru в избранное
Правовые акты международные
Правовые акты Российской Федерации
