CASE OF HORVÁTH AND VAJNAI v. HUNGARY
Violation of Article 10 - Freedom of expression -{General} (Article 10-1 - Freedom of expression)
András Sajó;Helen Keller;Robert Spano
6. The applicants were born in 1942 and 1963 respectively and live in Budapest. 7. At the material time, Mr Vajnai was Vice-President and Mr Horváth was a member and activist of the Workers’ Party (Munkáspárt), a registered left-wing political party. The party had no known intention of participating in Hungarian political life in defiance of the rule of law. 8. Mr Vajnai was the editor of the Party’s web page containing news and articles related to the Hungarian and European Communist movements. On 18 November 2003 Mr Vajnai placed a five-pointed red star and a sickle-and-hammer logo on the web page. 9. On 3 April 2004 the applicants participated in a peaceful demonstration commemorating the 1945 Soviet liberation of Hungary from Nazi occupation. Mr Vajnai wore a five-pointed red star on his jacket, whilst Mr Horváth wore a sweater ornamented with five-pointed red star and a sickle-and-hammer pattern. 10. Subsequently, criminal proceedings were instituted against them for the offence of having worn totalitarian symbols in public. In the context of these proceedings, the public prosecutor summoned the applicants. On 10 September 2004 they appeared in the public prosecutor’s office wearing five-pointed red stars on their jackets. 11. On 11 March and 2 June 2004 and 16 November 2005, in the context of other criminal proceedings against him, Mr Vajnai appeared in court wearing a five-pointed red star on his jacket. On 5 November 2004, the applicant spoke on the national television about his Party’s political aims and the criminal proceedings against him. On that occasion he wore a five-pointed red star on his jacket. 12. On 2 July 2005 the applicants participated in a peaceful demonstration in the National Cemetery. Mr Vajnai wore a five-pointed red star on his jacket, whilst Mr Horváth wore a five-pointed red star on his rain coat. 13. On 22 March 2007 the applicants were convicted by the Pest Central District Court under section 269/B (1) of the Criminal Code of the offence of having worn totalitarian symbols in public. The court observed that the applicants had worn a five-pointed red star and a sickle-and-hammer logo on several occasions of public appearance. 14. Mr Vajnai was sentenced to a criminal fine of 120,000 Hungarian forints (HUF) and ordered to pay another HUF 45,000 in criminal costs. In the case of Mr Horváth, the court refrained from imposing a sentence for a probationary period of one year. 15. On 10 June 2008 the Budapest Regional Court upheld this judgment. 16. On 8 July 2008 the European Court of Human Rights adopted a judgment in a case introduced by Mr Vajnai on account of a previous conviction similar in nature (see Vajnai v. Hungary, no. 33629/06, 8 July 2008). The Court held that prosecution for having worn a red star amounted to a violation of the applicant’s freedom of expression enshrined in Article 10 of the Convention. 17. Subsequently, the applicants challenged the Regional Court’s judgment before the Supreme Court. Relying on section 10(2) of the Criminal Code, they claimed that their conduct did not represent danger for society in the face of the Vajnai judgment. 18. On 23 June 2011 the Supreme Court dismissed the applicants’ petition for review.