Media Coverage of Protests and Demonstrations

The fact-sheet starts by affirming that "according to the relevant case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, the “watch-dog” role of the media representatives is of particular importance in such contexts, since their presence is a guarantee that the authorities can be held to account for their conduct vis-à-vis the demonstrators and the public at large when it comes to the policing of large gatherings, including the methods used to control or disperse protesters or to preserve public order. Any attempt to remove journalists from the scene of demonstrations must therefore be subject to strict scrutiny".

Against this backdrop, the fact-sheet presents 5 ECtHR cases where the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Finland, Russia, Azerbaijan and Switzerland were found guilty of violating the European Convention of Human Rights and it concludes by recalling European regulations and standards on the subject.