Freedom of speech stood up today, vindicating a Danish citizen who had in his country called far-right politician Rasmus Paludan “” in a post on Twitter (now X).
Strasbourg ruled that the conviction by the Danish courts violated Article 10 of the European Convention and ordered compensation, stressing that harsh characterizations, in the context of political confrontation, are protected in a democratic society.
More specifically, the case concerns the conviction of Mathias Friis Mortensen for a 2021 Twitter post in which he called Paludan, leader of the far-right Stram Kurs party, a “Nazi”. Mortensen had scathingly commented: “RP is allowed to be a Nazi, burn Korans and say awful things about people…but does anyone else get arrested for calling a cop an idiot?”
The Danish courts convicted Mortensen of defamation, fining him which, on appeal, amounted to around €4,000.
The Strasbourg Court adopted the judgment that the characterization, although harsh, was made in the context of political dialogue and concerned a matter of major public interest.
Furthermore, due to Paludan’s far-right and anti-Islamic profile, the characterization was seen as a value judgment, linked to his political positions, rather than a claim of fact.
The ECtHR pointed out that although the use of a particularly stigmatizing expression such as “Nazi” requires a sufficient factual basis, the Danish Supreme Court provided no justification for its conclusion that there was no such basis. Therefore, the ECtHR held that the criminal conviction was neither “necessary in a democratic society” nor disproportionate to the legitimate aim of protecting reputation.
With today’s decision, Mortensen is fully vindicated and will receive a total compensation of 19,400 euros.
