CASE OF STOMAKHIN v. RUSSIA
Remainder inadmissible (Art. 35) Admissibility criteria;(Art. 35-3-a) Manifestly ill-founded;Violation of Article 10 - Freedom of expression-{general} (Article 10-1 - Freedom of expression);Pecuniary damage - claim dismissed (Article 41 - Pecuniary damage;Just satisfaction);Non-pecuniary damage - award (Article 41 - Non-pecuniary damage;Just satisfaction)
Alena Poláčková;Branko Lubarda;Dmitry Dedov;Helen Keller;Helena Jäderblom;Pere Pastor Vilanova
5. The applicant was born in 1974 and lives in Vsesvyatskaya. 6. At the material time the applicant was a journalist at a Lithuanian weekly publication. 7. He was also a civil activist. As was later established by the domestic courts, since approximately the summer of 1998 the applicant had identified himself as a member of an informal liberal democratic movement, Revolyutsionnoye Kontaktnoye Obyedineniye (“the Revolutionary Contact Union” – hereinafter “the RKO”). Also, in the period from 2000 until 2004 the applicant was the founder, owner, publisher and editor-in-chief of a monthly newsletter entitled Radikalnaya Politika (“Radical Politics”). He determined the contents of the newsletter and published his own articles in it, as well as articles by people with similar views and excerpts from official and non-official sources of information and the mass media. He, himself, prepared each issue of the newsletter at his home address by typing it up on his personal computer, and then had it printed out and reproduced in multiple copies. The exact number of copies of each issue is unknown. The applicant then distributed the newsletter in person or through other unidentified individuals by selling it or giving it out for free at various places in Moscow. The articles touched, to a great extent, on the events in the Chechen Republic. 8. An article headlined “From the interview given by M. Udugov to the Kavkaz Center press agency” (“Из интервью М. Удугова агенству Кавказ Центр”) mentioned the large-scale hostage-taking at the Dubrovka Theatre in Moscow in October 2002 referring to it as “the action of Movsar Barayev’s heroic Chechen rebels in Moscow” (“акция героических чеченских повстанцев Мовсара Бараева в Москве”). It stated, in particular: “Russia has clearly demonstrated that it is at war and permanently in danger of being hit by retaliatory blows, because its rulers have perpetrated a despicable attack on a sovereign State and are killing innocent civilians there. Even the western community is compelled to admit that Putin’s Russia is waging a war aimed at the physical extermination of Chechens as an ethnic group.” 9. An article entitled “Insanity [defence] of Budanov [is] a guarantee of victory for Basayev” (“Невменяемость Буданова – залог победы Басаевa”) commented on the case of a high-ranking Russian officer who was standing trial on charges of torture and murder for the strangulation of an 18-year-old Chechen woman and, in particular, on the judgment of the first-instance court by which the defendant had been found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. The article, of which the applicant was one of the authors, stated, in particular: “... The whole of Chechnya is filled now with the same Budanovs – maniacs, bloodthirsty sadists, murderers and degenerates in epaulettes. Russia’s whole occupying army consists of those Budanovs.” 10. It also stated that: “... The fact that a [someone who posed a] danger [to] society, an insane maniac was in command of a regiment ... sets a new task before the revolutionary-democratic forces of Russia. From now on we should require immediate compulsory psychiatric examination of all commanders of the military and naval forces, service personnel of the Ministry of the Interior, the border guard, the police and the FSB, starting from a captain and finishing with the Commander-in-Chief – V.V.Putin.” 11. It also appealed: “Let dozens of Chechen snipers take up their positions in the hills and the city ruins and hundreds and thousands of aggressors perish from their holy bullets! No mercy! Death to the Russian invaders!” 12. An article headlined “Accomplices to the murderers of the Chechen people” (“О соучастниках убийства чеченского народа”), authored by a third person, commented on the hostage-taking at the Dubrovka Theatre in Moscow in October 2002 and contained the following paragraph: “I, as a national of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeriya (CRI), who is daily suffering from the Russian State Terror, can understand the reasons which pushed Chechen patriots to this extraordinary act. It had been brought about by the continuing attacks by Russia on the Chechen State and [the Chechen] people. There are no documents condemning the mass murder of nationals of the CRI, to say nothing of Russia’s aggression against the Chechen State ... Chechen patriots, reduced to a state of despair by Russia’s Terror, were compelled to commit this guerrilla act in Moscow, the capital of Russia. In so doing they pursued their sole goal, namely to alert the international community to the total genocide of the Chechen people being cynically committed by the Russian invaders”. 13. The same article mentioned the “national liberation struggle of the Chechen people against the colonial expansion of Russia”. 14. In an article headlined “The Chechen resistance is alive! Maskhadov has visited Dzhokhar and Argun” expressions such as “President Maskhadov”, “President of the CRI”, “Commander-In-Chief of the CRI Maskhadov”, “the capital of the CRI, Dzhokhar” were used. 15. In an article headlined “In memoriam, Salman Raduyev” (“Памяти Салмана Радуева”) the applicant wrote: “Chechen heroes are leaving ... Dudayev, Atteriyev, Khattab and today – Raduyev. As if they would be devoured by a scary black noisome abyss. And the name of this abyss is Russia.” 16. In the same article the applicant stated: “... Salman Raduyev fought against Russia to his last breath, without making compromises with the murderers of his people. His life was an example of how one should fight against Russia. His death has become an example, amongst a million of such examples, of the immeasurable scoundrelism and perfidy of Russia, the pathological falsity and criminality of Russia as a State, as a civilisation, as a subject of history. ... Salman Raduyev is the brightest page [in the history] of the heroic Chechen Resistance movement. He was a hero of an entire generation, not only in Chechnya, but also in Russia. His life and death are a guarantee that damned imperial Russia will be destroyed and the Chechens and all other peoples oppressed by it will finally obtain freedom. We will avenge you, Salman!” 17. In an article entitled “A new joke by Vova” (“Новая шутка Вовы”) the applicant stated: “Lawful convictions issued by the Sharia court of the CRI against national traitors are being executed rigorously.” 18. In the same issue of the newsletter the applicant reproduced information from the website regions.ru regarding a police operation by a unit of the regional Department of the Interior aimed at setting free Uzbek nationals who had been held in slavery by Russian nationals. The applicant headlined that article with the words “Russians have slaves and dare to squawk something about Chechens” (“Русские держат рабов и еще смеют что-то вякать в адрес чеченцев”). 19. In the same issue the applicant published an article headlined “Orthodox [believers] went completely nuts” (“Православные совсем охренели”) in which information had been given about some unidentified “Orthodox theologians” who, in a booklet called “Foundations of the Orthodox Faith” had allegedly claimed that “Jesus Christ [had been] crucified not by Jews but by Chechens”. 20. In an article headlined “‘Chechen syndrome’ inside out” (“Чеченский синдром навыворот”), the applicant wrote: “... Most importantly, we realised with our hearts and skin that Freedom is, indeed, the most precious thing that a man has, the most precious treasure, the only thing worth dying for. And if [an individual is] lucky[, he or she will] take with [him or her]self to the other world at least some enemies, as selfless Chechen women do when they put on their ‘shaheed belts’. The life of a human is in any event brief and fragile and is only worth living if you are free. Otherwise it is better to die at once. As these Chechen women die.” 21. He went on as follows: “... In supporting Chechnya at war, demonstrating our solidarity with Basayev, openly supporting Movsar Barayev in Moscow on the days of the ‘Nord-Ost’ [theatre siege], we crossed a line, a certain border, past which all connections to our past and the environment and people among which we had been born and grown up and lived broke down; we had trustingly considered ourselves to be part of them, until we read on a foreign, enemy website, and saw with our own eyes, all the awful details of the atrocities committed by [our] people in a tiny neighbouring mountain country. Hence, the Rubicon has been crossed, the choice has been made and there is no room to back off – we no longer have any other family than all peoples oppressed by ‘our’ Empire, than partisans fighting to be freed from its yoke, than famous warlords like Basayev and political parties which claim monetary compensation [from Russia] for their occupation and return of the territories Russia has annexed ...” 22. In the same article the applicant stated: “... It is the bloody cannibalistic atrocity of this State towards a tiny and helpless mountain people that first brought this thought into our conscience: Russia must be destroyed forever, a State doing similar things to an entire nation should not exist at all!” 23. An article headlined “Chechnya shielded the Caucasus” (“Чечня заслонила собою Кавказ”), authored by a third person, stated: “... Maskhadov, Basayev, Khattab and other heroes of the Chechen resistance courageously and firmly got in the way of Russia’s aggression and, in fact, saved not only the independence of Chechnya but also its very existence, as well as the existence of other States in the Caucasus ...” 24. In an article entitled “No comments” the applicant stated: “... Putin’s cheap propaganda can jabber as long as it wishes that Maskhadov is a bandit and that he is responsible for the ‘Nord-Ost’ [theatre siege] and the recent explosions in Tushino. Anyone who shows at least some interest in contemporary Chechnya knows that it is Maskhadov who is the legitimate President of Chechnya. And until he is re-elected in accordance with the constitution of the CRI, and not the Russian constitution, any other ‘presidents of Chechnya’ are out of the question. Lawful elections of the president of the CRI under the constitution of the CRI of 1992 will only be possible when the CRI army, headed by Commander-in-Chief Maskhadov, defeats occupying Russia’s illegal armed groups of the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Security Service, and chucks them out of the territory of independent Ichkeriya ...” 25. In an article headlined “Retribution-2” (“Возмездие-2”) the applicant stated: “... Retribution for genocide will take place sooner or later. If we live up to it, we will be its witnesses and it would be good to become its punishing sword. Until then we are only capable of organising lamentably small candlelight vigils to commemorate all those killed and tortured in Chechnya, Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland – from the White (Baltic) to the Black Seas – by our State which has become frenzied because of blood. It is impossible to live with this heavy burden in the soul, as the terrible knowledge of Russia’s history requires retribution from all those who remain conscious. It is possible that the hands which hold a commemoration candle today will hold a gun tomorrow – it is hard to believe that but Lord help us to live in the happy time when this happens. For the time being we don’t have any other weapons, except for the alarm bell of our words. ... We remember and grieve for all those killed and tortured by ‘our’ Empire, hated by us. However, a better gift to all Chechens being exterminated will be not [to have] yet another meeting with candles to commemorate their genocide, but each blow struck – even though they are still weak, for now – against the criminal State which is killing them and depriving us of our freedom, mutilating our souls, striving to turn us into butchers and binding us with blood. ‘Less words and more action’ – this is the slogan of slogans of the day! Particularly given that there is much to be done for the radical anti-imperial opposition in the country!” 26. The article also read: “... let Russia spit blood for yesterday’s and today’s genocide of the Chechen people – it serves it right, it deserved it. Let our commemoration candles at the meetings of 23 February turn into flaming torches, in whose purgatorial flames this rotten block, lying in the way of humankind, will burn!” 27. In the same article the applicant wrote: “... As to the writing of inscriptions on the walls of buildings, fences and bus stops, one cannot overestimate the importance of those acts. From today on and until 14 [March 2004] we have to strike persistently at one point: slaves, become free for at least a moment, do not participate in fake ‘elections’! We need not campaign among the limited circle of revolutionaries, human-rights activists, extremists, and members of radical and marginal social groups – they already know everything. Each direct and open appeal to ... the people other than politicised consumers of ... TV cud [тележвачки] is an open and powerful blow to the regime and will hasten its end ...” 28. In the same article the applicant also issued the following call: “... We have to accumulate, hate and keep record of their crimes – the endless list of all those ‘sweep operations’, ‘identity checks’, ‘counter-terrorist operations’, gagging laws, unlawful searches and politically motivated criminal prosecutions. It would also be good to make lists of all those who carried out a particular ‘sweep operation’ in a particular village, who instituted criminal proceedings, on whose information and on which date. It is known from the historical perspective that those people are most of all afraid of personal responsibility, which they would not be able to shift on to their commanders who had given illegal orders. One day executioners in uniforms and narks without uniforms in Moscow, as well as in Chechnya, will be held accountable to us for everything ...” 29. An article headlined “Kremlin looters” (“Кремлевские мародеры”), authored by a third person, criticised the actions of the Russian Army in the Chechen Republic and, in particular, accused them of a large-scale extrajudicial executions of civilians during a “sweep” operation in a Chechen village in 1995. It also stated: “In Chechnya the Russian Army stopped existing as a military force of the State, having, once and for all, turned itself into a frenzied gang of looters and murderers; a herd intoxicated with drugs.” 30. In his “editorial note” to the “Declaration of the Committee ‘2008: a free choice’” the applicant stated: “We, [the RKO] and Radikalnaya Politika, are united with the Committee and prepared to cooperate with them. Obviously, we are much more radical than them. We consider that we should not wait until 2008 and be worried about the Constitution but call on the people to overthrow and liquidate Putin’s regime as soon as possible. We also don’t consider it possible to preserve the contemporary Russian Federation as an integral State. However, we are for a common ground with all our allies, even those who are much more moderate.” 31. On the front page the following statement was published on behalf of the “editorial team”: “Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev died a hero and he will remain [a hero] in the memory of humankind, historians and grateful future generations. He fought the bloody Rusnya as long as he could”. 32. In an article headlined “The price to be paid for genocide” (“Расплата за геноцид”) the applicant wrote: “The explosion in the Moscow metro is justified, natural and lawful ... Chechens have a moral right to blow up everything they want in Russia, after what Russia and Russians have done to them; no objections regarding humanism or love for humankind can be accepted.” 33. In the same article the applicant stated: “It has been ten years since the Russian Federation and its people [began] a totally destructive genocidal war against the Chechen people, who before the war numbered only one million people”. 34. In an article headlined “Will Russia be allowed to participate in the Summer Olympics in Athens?” (“Пустят ли Россию на летнюю олимпиаду в Афинах?”) the applicant wrote: “Russia’s bloody attack on the CRI led to, among millions of other similar bloody consequences, Russia’s security forces’ killing of the ex-President of the CRI, Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who had helped his people to repel this attack.” 35. In eight issues of the Radikalnaya Politika newsletter, in a column entitled “The Good News” (“Благие вести”), the applicant published information which he had copied from various news agencies’ websites, such as Interfax, or websites like strana.ru and KMNews.ru. The information mostly concerned events such as deaths of federal servicemen or law-enforcement officers in the Chechen Republic; violent attacks and assaults on public officials or police officers in various regions of Russia; and so forth. 36. On 23 February 2004 the applicant took part at an unauthorised meeting, where he displayed banners with slogans condemning the current political regime, such as: “Zakayev is not a terrorist, unlike Putin and Co.” (Закаев не террорист, в отличие от Путина и К), “Europe! Do not betray the Chechen resistance!” (Европа! Не предай Чеченское сопротивление!), “Russian invaders – get out of Chechnya” (Русские оккупанты – вон из Чечни!), “When will the Chechen people be freed and rehabilitated?” (Когда будет освобожден и реабилитирован чеченский народ?) and also a flag with the words “Radical Party”. 37. On 10 March 2004, while participating in a meeting at Pushkin Square in Moscow, the applicant, personally and with the participation of an unidentified person, disseminated issues nos. 2 (40) and 3 (41) of the Radikalnaya Politika newsletter and informed people interested in it about the forthcoming issues, how to subscribe and other ways to financially support the newsletter, of which he was the editor-in-chief. 38. On 18 December 2003 criminal proceedings were instituted against the applicant on suspicion that the views expressed in the Radikalnaya Politika newsletter amounted to appeals to extremist activities and incitement to racial, national, social and other hatred. 39. A psychological-linguistic expert examination of the texts published by the applicant was carried out. In a report of 13 April 2004 the expert stated, in particular, that the impugned texts contained negative emotional assessments of Russia’s servicemen; of people of Russian ethnicity; and of Orthodox believers. The report further mentioned that, by criticising Russia’s actions in the Chechen Republic, the texts gave negative assessments of Russia, as a State; of the existing political regime; of Russia’s army as a part of the machinery of the State. The report also pointed out numerous expressly negative words and expressions used by the applicants when describing Russia. It also mentioned that the impugned texts positively assessed and justified the actions and activities of a number of Chechen separatist leaders and fighters; terrorist attacks, including explosions, within the territory of Russia. 40. On 26 April 2004 the applicant was formally charged with the above-mentioned offences and on an unspecified date the case was transferred to the Butyrskiy District Court of Moscow (“the District Court”) for trial. 41. At the trial, the applicant pleaded not guilty. He confirmed that he had been the editor-in-chief and publisher of the Radikalnaya Politika newsletter but argued that he had printed the newsletter only for himself and had not distributed it. He further argued that he had merely expressed his opinion regarding various political events in Russia, and, in particular, his civic position regarding the ongoing armed conflict in the Chechen Republic. In his words, he had never called for extremist activities or violent overthrow of the existing political regime in Russia; he had only called for a change of the leadership in the country. 42. The District Court called and examined a number of witnesses, who submitted that they had bought the applicant’s newsletter or seen him distribute it for free in public. It also examined the expert who had drawn up the report of 13 April 2004. The expert confirmed his conclusions made in the report. A number of witnesses on the applicant’s behalf were also called and examined. 43. The trial court further examined other pieces of evidence, including the expert report of 13 April 2004; written complaints from eight private individuals in which they had stated that the applicant’s articles had aimed at inciting hatred and had contained insulting language in respect of Russians, Orthodox believers and law-enforcement officers; reports of seizure of issues of the applicant’s newsletter; reports of a search of the applicant’s flat and seizure of his computer; a report on the applicant’s forensic psychiatric examination, which confirmed that he was fully able to understand the meaning of his actions and to control them. 44. The District Court examined the applicant’s arguments and those raised by his defence counsel and dismissed them as untenable on the facts of the case, with reference to the witness statements and other pieces of evidence. 45. In a judgment of 20 November 2006 the District Court found the applicant guilty of “having publicly appealed to extremist activities through the mass media” (Article 280 § 2 of the Russian Criminal Code) and of having committed “actions aimed at inciting hatred and enmity as well as at humiliating the dignity of an individual or group of individuals on the grounds of ethnicity, origin, attitude towards religion and membership of a social group, through the mass media” (Article 282 § 1 of the Russian Criminal Code). 46. The trial court 6-7 above, and referred to the texts mentioned in the expert report of 13 April 2004 (see paragraph 39 above). It considered that the impugned texts had had a clear extremist leaning and incited actions prohibited by the Suppression of Extremism Act (see paragraph 69 below). In particular, in those texts the applicant had called for extremist acts, such as a forcible overthrow of the constitutional order and the President of Russia; had called for a breach of the territorial integrity of Russia; had justified and glorified terrorist acts; had called for violence against the Russian people and abased their dignity; and had incited religious discord by arguing that the Orthodox faith had been inferior and by insulting its followers. In those texts the applicant had used insulting language in respect of Russia as a State, the political regime in the country, and servicemen of Russia’s armed and security forces. 47. More specifically, the District Court observed that in various issues of his newsletter the applicant had represented the conflict in the Chechen Republic as a war between two States – Chechnya and Russia; had approved of terrorist attacks carried out in Russia, and of the actions of criminals and terrorists aimed at the extermination of the Russian people as a nation. In this respect, the District Court referred to the applicant’s relevant texts in issue no. 1 (27) (see paragraph 16 above) and in issue no. 9 (35) (see paragraphs 21 and 23 above), stating that in those texts, while “mentioning a number of persons implicated in terrorist and extremist activities”, the applicant had used words and expressions aimed at creating positive public opinion about those persons and their criminal acts. 48. The District Court also pointed out that “the texts of the applicant’s articles contain[ed] positive assessment of the bombings in Russia perpetrated by Chechen terrorists as well as the acts of Chechen snipers from illegal armed groups who kill[ed] Russia’s servicemen in Chechnya”. In this respect, it quoted an extract from issue no. 1 (27) (see paragraph 11 above) and extracts from issue no. 3 (41) (see paragraphs 31-32 above). 49. The trial court went on to note that the applicant had qualified Russia’s actions in the Chechen Republic as aggression and had considered the Russian Army to be an occupying force. Accordingly, he “[had] negatively assessed Russia’s actions and those of Russia’s armed forces; similarly negatively [the applicant had] assessed Russia as a State, the Russian Army as a part of the machinery of the State and Russia’s servicemen as a social group”. The District Court continued to state that, on the other hand, the applicant “[had] represented the events in the Chechen Republic as a war waged by Russia against the Chechen people (the Chechen ethnic group) and as genocide against the Chechen people”. The court corroborated these findings with reference to relevant texts published in issue no. 1 (27) (see paragraphs 8 and 12 above) and in issue no. 3 (41) (see paragraphs 33 and 34 above). 50. The District Court also observed that the applicant had justified and positively assessed the acts of Chechen rebel fighters, and that he had regarded the Chechen Republic as an independent State with its own President (A. Maskhadov), capital (Dzhokhar), constitution, armed forces and Commander-in-Chief, courts (Sharia courts) and legislation. In particular, in issue no. 1 (27), the applicant had interpreted the events in the Chechen Republic as “a national liberation struggle of the Chechen people against the colonial expansion of Russia” (see paragraph 13 above), referred to “lawful convictions of the Sharia court of the CRI” (see paragraph 17 above), and mentioned “President Maskhadov”, “President of the CRI”, “Commander-In-Chief of the CRI Maskhadov”, “the capital of the CRI, Dzhokhar” (see paragraph 14 above). Also, in issue no. 3 (41) the applicant published a “decree by President Maskhadov” and in the article “No comments” he praised “President Maskhadov” as “the legitimate President of Chechnya” (see paragraph 24 above). 51. The District Court further referred to the texts in eight issues of the applicant’s newsletter published in the column entitled “Good news” (see paragraph 35 above). It pointed out that the applicant had represented bad events in a positive way, that is to say as actions approved by the authors and by the applicant himself and as an example to be followed. The court pointed out that another example to be followed, according to the applicant, had been actions of Chechen women putting on “shaheed belts”; in the latter respect, the court quoted a relevant extract from the article “‘Chechen syndrome’ inside out” (see paragraph 20 above). 52. The District Court went on to observe that “in all issues of his newsletter ... [the applicant had] wilfully made use of insulting characteristics, negative emotional assessments and attitudes towards ethnic, racial, national, religious and social groups”. In particular, in respect of Russia as a State he had employed such negative emotional references as metaphors “scary noisome abyss”, “bloody cannibalistic atrocity”, “rotten block”; humiliating characteristics “immeasurable scoundrelism, perfidy, pathological falsity” and negative attitudes aimed at destruction (the metaphor “to spit blood”), which, according to the trial court, was a clear indication of an attitude aimed at inciting bloodshed. The court corroborated these findings with reference to relevant extracts from issue no. 1 (27) (see paragraph 15 above), issue no. 9 (35) (see paragraph 22 above) and issue no. 2 (40) (see paragraph 26 above). 53. The District Court also considered that in the article headlined “Insanity of Budanov, a guarantee of victory for Basayev”, “the applicant [had] insult[ed ...] servicemen of the Russian Army and law-enforcement officers by launching an appeal to act criminally against them”. In particular, the court stated that “in that article [the applicant gave] an emotional and negative description of the servicemen of the Russian Army as a social group” (see paragraph 9 above) and “[made] an appeal for actions against [army] servicemen ..., such as requiring an immediate compulsory psychiatric examination of its commanders” (see paragraph 10 above). In support of its relevant findings, the District Court also relied on an extract published in issue 2 (40) (see paragraph 29 above). 54. It went on to state that “by publishing and disseminating the Radikalnaya Politika newsletter [the applicant had] wilfully acted with a view to stirring up enmity and conflict, including armed conflict, on national, racial and religious grounds between citizens living in the European and Asian parts of the country and people living in the Caucasus”. In this respect, the trial court referred to the applicant’s “editorial note” published in issue no. 2 (40) (see paragraph 30 above), observing that in that publication the applicant had “demonstrated a negative attitude towards the existing political system and Russia as a State”. The trial court pointed out that “the stance taken by [the applicant] concerning the liquidation of the existing State regime (“Putin’s regime”) presuppose[ed] not only actions in conformity with the constitution but also the possibility of deviating from it (“to overthrow the regime, without really caring about the Constitution”)”. 55. The court further noted that in the article “Retribution-2” the applicant had referred to “the following acts aimed against the State and the existing political regime in Russia: organisation of meetings concerning events in the Chechen Republic, participation in those meetings, writing inscriptions on the walls of buildings, fences and bus stops” with the contents reflected in the relevant extracts of that article (see paragraph 25 above). The court also stated that “the applicant [had] also suggested carrying out other unlawful acts against the State and the political regime in the texts of his newsletters but [had] failed to specify which”. 56. The District Court then observed that in various issues of his newsletter the applicant had “intentionally appealed for records to be kept of such acts as ‘sweep operations’, ‘identity checks’, ‘counter-terrorist operations’, ‘unlawful searches and politically motivated criminal prosecutions’, which he [had] qualified as ‘crimes’ and the persons who [had] carried them out as ‘executioners in uniforms’ and ‘narks without uniforms’”. The court referred, in particular, to the applicant’s appeal made in the relevant extract from the article “Retribution-2” (see paragraph 28 above). 57. The trial court went on to note that in the article “Orthodox [believers] went completely nuts” (see paragraph 19 above) the applicant had made use of a heading carrying a negative and emotional assessment of the followers of the Orthodox denomination (“went nuts”). However, in the court’s words, “the content of the article [did] not correspond to its title, because it concern[ed] an isolated case (a statement that “Jesus Christ was crucified not by Jews but by Chechens”, contained in a booklet called “Foundations of the Orthodox Faith”); this isolated case [was] generalised from and represented as a typical situation of Orthodox believers by virtue of using the impugned heading”. In the same vein, the District Court pointed out that in issue no. 1 (27) the applicant had reproduced information concerning certain Uzbek nationals held in slavery by certain Russian citizens (see paragraph 18 above). The court noted that the applicant had entitled that article “Russians have slaves and dare squawk something about Chechens” and had represented an isolated fact to the readers as typical and characteristic of all Russians, whereby he had “made a negative and emotional assessment (‘to squawk’) in respect of Russian citizens as a nation”. 58. Moreover, in issues nos. 1 (27) and 9 (35) the applicant had argued that “Orthodox people [православный народ] had been inferior by using insulting characteristics and negative emotional assessments of believers, discriminatory expressions in respect of the Orthodox denomination as a religion and stating that this religion, practised by Russians, should be abolished, thereby abasing the national dignity of the people practising [it]”. According to the trial court, statements regarding the inferiority of the Orthodox faith had been made by the applicant in an attempt to stir up interethnic and racial conflicts in society so as to cause indignation in society and eventually to call for a change of the existing political regime. The court did not specify which particular articles in the above-mentioned issues contained those characteristics and assessments. 59. Lastly, the court referred to the fact that “at an unauthorised meeting on 23 February 2004 the applicant [had] called on individuals to support his movement by openly displaying banners with slogans condemning the regime” (see paragraph 36 above) and during the meeting of 10 March 2004, “to continue to commit crimes aimed at incitement to hatred and enmity among the population, abasement of dignity of an individual or group of individuals on the grounds of gender, nationality, language, origin or religious beliefs and membership of a social group, the applicant, personally and with a participation of an unidetified person, had distributed issues nos. 2 (40) and 3 (41) of the Radikalnaya Politika newsletter and had informed the persons interested in it about the forthcoming issues, how to subscribe and other ways to financially support the newsletter, of which he had been the editor-in-chief”. In the trial court’s view the applicant thus had called for extremist activities to be supported by way of their financing on a charitable basis. 60. The District Court rejected the applicant’s argument that in the relevant articles he had made no appeals to extremist activities, and, in particular, that he had not called for the overthrow of the constitutional order nor stirred up inter-ethnic discord; and that he supported the constitutional order, the Russian Constitution and the Chechen people’s right to self-determination and had merely availed himself of the right to freedom of expression. The trial court noted, with reference to the expert report of 13 April 2004, that the language used by the applicant in the impugned texts enabled the court to conclude that the applicant’s actions had constituted criminal offences and that he had clearly abused his right to freedom of expression secured by the Russian Constitution. 61. The District Court furthermore dismissed the applicant’s argument that he had been the author of only some of the articles held against him whereas the others had been written by other individuals. The court observed in this connection that the applicant had been the editor-in-chief of the newsletter and, in this capacity, had had the power to shape its editorial direction and he had been responsible for its content. 62. As regards the punishment to be imposed on the applicant, the District Court had regard to the state of his health and the fact that he had no criminal record, had positive references and had a dependant mother. At the same time it stressed the “high social danger” posed by the applicant’s offences and his personality and sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment. The court also prohibited the applicant from practising journalism for three years to run concurrently. 63. The applicant appealed, referring, among other things, to Article 10 of the Convention and stating that as the editor-in-chief of the impugned newsletter he had expressed in it his personal views concerning political events in Russia and his attitude, as a citizen of that country, to the war in the Chechen Republic. He had not made any appeals for extremist activities and had not declared the superiority of any one religion over another. Nor had he called for the overthrow of the constitutional order, but he had expressed the view that the Government should be changed. The applicant further pointed out that the number of copies of the newsletter in question had been so miniscule that the statements published therein had presented no public danger. He also argued that the measure of punishment imposed on him was excessively severe, given, in particular, the fact that he had no criminal record and had positive references from the place where he lived. 64. On 23 May 2007 the Moscow City Court upheld the applicant’s conviction on appeal. It stated, in particular, that the applicant’s newsletter had been a mass medium despite the low number of copies produced. It also considered that . 65. The applicant was released on 21 March 2011 after he had served the prison sentence in full. In his submission, numerous requests by him for release on parole had been refused.