fact being that the document had originated from public officials. The Court notes that it was not alleged that the applicants had distorted or otherwise modified the text of the original open letter. Accordingly, it finds that, in reprinting an official non-confidential document, the applicants acted in good faith and were mindful of the "duties and responsibilities" of the members of the press referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 10.
47. The Court further observes that the Russian courts characterised the contested allegation about "irregularities" as a statement of fact and found the applicants liable for failure to show its veracity. The Court reiterates that in the context of the balancing exercise under Article 10, in particular where the reporting by a journalist of statements made by third parties is concerned, the relevant test is not whether the journalist can prove the veracity of the statements but whether a sufficiently accurate and reliable factual basis proportionate to the nature and degree of the allegation can be established (see Dyundin, cited above, § 35, and Pedersen and Baadsgaard, cited above, § 78). The fact that the regional police and the regional courts' management department had obtained unusually high timber purchasing quotas was not disputed in the domestic proceedings. Likewise, the fact was not contested that wholesale companies purchasing timber without appropriate licences had been allowed to operate without hindrance in the region. The Court stresses that where the impugned statement was made in the course of a lively debate at local level, elected officials and journalists should enjoy a wide freedom to criticise the actions of a local authority, even where the statement may lack a clear basis in fact (see Lombardo and Others v. Malta, No. 7333/06, § 60, 24 April 2007). In sum, the Court finds that the contested statement, albeit expressed provocatively, did not overstep the bounds of journalistic freedom, bearing in mind that State bodies and civil servants acting in an official capacity are, like politicians, subject to wider limits of acceptable criticism than private individuals.
48. Lastly, the Court will assess the penalty imposed on the applicants. It notes that they were each ordered to pay a substantial amount, first to Mr Shulga in his private capacity and then an even greater amount to the courts' management department. The domestic courts did not analyse what part of the applicants' income those amounts represented and whether an excessive burden would thereby be imposed on them. In the applicants' submission, undisputed by the Government, the sanction was equivalent to their income for four months and was thus obviously a severe penalty.
49. In conclusion, the Court finds that the Russian authorities did not adjudicate the defamation claims in compliance with the Convention standards and did not adduce relevant and sufficient reasons for the interference with the applicants' right to freedom of expression. Accordingly, the interference complained of was not "necessary in a democratic society" within the meaning of Article 10 § 2 of the Convention.
50. There has therefore been a violation of Article 10 of the Convention.
II. Application of Article 41 of the Convention
51. Article 41 of the Convention provides:
"If the Court finds that there has been a violation of the Convention or the Protocols thereto, and if the internal law of the High Contracting Party concerned allows only partial reparation to be made, the Court shall, if necessary, afford just satisfaction to the injured party."
A. Pecuniary damage
52. The applicants each claimed 860 euros (EUR) as compensation in respect of pecuniary damage. That sum corresponded to the amount which they had each had to pay to the plaintiffs as a result of the domestic courts'
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