European Court of Human Rights upholds Ukraine's right to penalise use of pro-war St George's ribbon
www.pravda.com.ua
Thu, 12 Dec 2024 13:39:53 +0200
The European Court of Human Rights ECtHR has upheld Ukraines ban on the public display of St Georges ribbons, deeming it lawful in its 2017 judgment in the case of Borzykh v.
Ukraine.
St Georges ribbon is a propaganda symbol of war used by Russia ed.
Source European Pravda, citing the courts rulling Details The case concerned the ban on the public wearing of St Georges ribbons in Ukraine, which came into force in 2016.
The plaintiff, Yurii Borzykh, a former military man, sought to wear the St Georges ribbon on Victory Day, 9 May.
Victory Day is a Russian holiday commemorating the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, celebrated on 9 May ed..
The complaint was submitted to the ECtHR on 17 November 2017.
Borzykh argued that the ban on wearing the St Georges ribbon in public places was discriminatory.
The Court noted the changed significance of the St George ribbon in the ongoing armed conflict with Russia and found, in particular, that although Ukraines ban had restricted freedom of expression, it had been within the States discretion, the ECtHR said in its ruling.
According to the Court, Borzykhs case involved an interference with his right to freedom of expression.
In determining whether this interference was justified and necessary in a democratic society, the Court considered the context in which the ban on the St Georges ribbon was imposed.
The Court saw no reason to call into question the Ukrainian Governments efforts to tackle the problems posed by armed conflict.
The Court observed that the prohibition of the St George ribbon was not a blanket ban and there were quite a number of exceptions, including its lawful use as original State award or military honour awarded before 1991, the ECtHR said.
The court ruled that the Ukrainian state had not exceeded its limits of authority margin of appreciation and dismissed this part of the complaint as manifestly unfounded.
In addition, Borzykh failed to prove that the ban had caused him mental anguish or anxiety or otherwise had a significant impact on him, the ECtHR concluded.
Background Notably, following Russias fullscale invasion of Ukraine, Estonia enacted a law banning the public display of symbols associated with Russian aggression.
President Alar Karis approved the legislation, which prohibits the display of prowar Russian symbols such as the St.
Georges ribbon and the letter Z.
In addition, the demonstration of symbols of Russias war in Ukraine, such as the letters Z and V, as well as the St.
Georges ribbon, is also prohibited in Lithuania.
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