CASE OF VAJNAI v. HUNGARY NO.4
Violation of Article 10 - Freedom of expression -{General} (Article 10-1 - Freedom of expression)
András Sajó;Helen Keller;Robert Spano
6. The applicant was born in 1963 and lives in Budapest. 7. On 18 May 2009 the applicant, a left-wing politician, participated in a peaceful demonstration wearing a five-pointed red star on his jacket. A police patrol which was present called on the applicant to remove the star, which was then confiscated. The applicant’s complaint to the Head of National Police was to no avail. 8. Subsequently, he challenged the measure in court. 9. On 29 June 2010 the Budapest Regional Court dismissed his action. The court held that the display of the red star contravened section 269/B of the Criminal Code and consequently its confiscation was justified under sections 115(1) and 151(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 10. In review proceedings, the Supreme Court upheld the Regional Court’s decision on 8 June 2011, holding that the police measure had been lawful, despite the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Vajnai v. Hungary (no. 33629/06, ECHR 2008), whose application in the circumstances had been no task of the police officers present on the premises. 11. The applicant incurred altogether 1,115 euros in legal costs.