United Kingdom: CFWIJ Welcomes ECtHR Statement In Rita Pal’s Case

Location: United Kingdom
Date: December 8, 2021

The European Court of Human Rights recently ruled that the UK authorities violated the right of journalist Rita Pal during her arrest and prosecution process. Rita was arrested by the police after one of the subjects of her articles sued her. Rita alleged that the following arrest and prosecution was a violation of the rights granted to her by Article 10, however, the concern was ignored by local courts.

Following one of her articles, Rita Pal was charged with the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, when the subject of one of her articles alleged that Rita had injured their right to privacy and reputation. During proceedings, the police handcuffed Rita and forcefully changed her location from Birmingham to London upon which Rita alleged a violation right to freedom of expression. The local courts did not entertain her argument.

The case was then appealed in the European Court of Human Rights. On the basis of the facts of the case, the court ruled that the arresting police officer had the duty to balance the complainant’s right to privacy and dignity and Rita’s right to freedom of speech during the procedure. Keeping this in mind, the court ruled that the UK police authorities were in violation of Article 10.

Following is the judgment delivered by the European Court of Human Rights:

1.  Declares the complaint concerning the applicant’s arrest and prosecution admissible and the remainder of the application inadmissible;

2.      Holds that there has been a violation of Article 10 of the Convention;

3.      Holds

(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, the following amounts, to be converted into pounds sterling at the rate applicable at the date of settlement:

(i) EUR 2,500 (two thousand five hundred euros), plus any tax that may be chargeable, in respect of non-pecuniary damage; and

(ii) EUR 1,400 (one thousand four hundred euros), plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicant, in respect of costs and expenses;

(b)  that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amounts at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points;

4.      Dismisses the remainder of the applicant’s claim for just satisfaction.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes the judgment by ECtHR. Journalism is a job that requires journalists to take great risks. In such cases, they need to be assured that even during legal disputes, their constitutional rights will not be violated in order to ensure that the press culture of the country remains fearless and robust.

The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.

If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.