Communicated on 28 January 2020 Published on 17 February 2020

FIRST SECTION

Applications nos. 82623/17 and 83043/17 Ilias KANELLIS and Andreas PAPPAS against Greece and Maria VASILAKI and Emmanouil VASILAKIS against Greece lodged on 6 December 2017 and 6 December 2017 respectively

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE CASE

The applications concern civil defamation proceedings instituted against the applicants, in their capacities as co-directors, editor and journalist of the magazine “The Athens Review Books”, following a publication of an article in June 2010. The article was criticising the allotment of the main amphitheatre of the Old Parliament House for the presentation of a book whose author was Mr. Kotzias , a Greek politician and professor at the university. The domestic courts considered the article defamatory and the proceedings ended with the applicants being ordered to pay damages in the amount of 10,000 euros.

The applicants complain that the domestic courts ’ judgments holding them liable for defamation constituted a disproportionate interference with their right of freedom of expression under Article 10 of the Convention.

QUESTION TO THE PARTIES

Has there been a violation of the applicants ’ right to freedom of expression contrary to Article 10 of the Convention due to them being ordered to pay damages following the publication of the impugned article?