| Applicant name | ABBASALIYEVA |
| Applicant type | Natural person |
| Number of applicants | 1 |
| Country | AZERBAIJAN |
| Application no. | 6950/13 |
| Date | 27/04/2023 |
| Judges | Marko Bošnjak, President, Péter Paczolay, Krzysztof Wojtyczek, Alena Poláčková, Lətif Hüseynov, Gilberto Felici, Erik Wennerström |
| Institution | Court |
| Type | Judgment |
| Outcome Art. 8 | Violation |
| Reason | Positive obligation |
| Type of privacy | Informational privacy; private life |
| Keywords | Publication; reputation |
| Facts of the case | The application mainly concerns the applicant’s complaint about the domestic courts’ failure to protect her right to her reputation and raises issues mainly under Article 8 of the Convention. |
| Analysis | The Court assesses the balancing exercise between freedom of expression and the right to privacy. It notes that the disputed articles were published a few days after the applicant’s appointment as head physician and that even though in the fourth article there was some discussion on alleged criminal proceedings against another doctor, the main purpose of all the articles was to attack the applicant. While questioning and criticising the applicant’s appointment as head physician, the authors of the articles emphasised the fact that she was the sister of a person who had been convicted of participation in the attempted coup d’état. The articles contained nothing whatsoever concerning the applicant’s professional skills as a physician, or any suggestion that she was unfit for the post of head physician because of a lack of any such skills or that she had committed any illegal or unprofessional act during her career. In such circumstances, the Court does not see how those articles, and, in particular, the statements contained therein could have contributed to any debate on a matter of public interest. Also, the applicant has ever sought any public attention. Several days after the articles were published, the applicant was dismissed from the post of head physician. |
| Other Article violation? | No violation Article 14 ECHR |
| Damage awarded | (a) that the respondent State is to pay the applicant, within three months from the date on which the judgment becomes final in accordance with Article 44 § 2 of the Convention, EUR 4,500 (four thousand five hundred euros), plus any tax that may be chargeable, in respect of non-pecuniary damage, to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement; (b) that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amount at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points; |
| Documents | Judgment |