Human rights court refuses to hear undercover journalists’ case

The purchase of illegal fireworks was not essential for documentary says court

Two journalists who were each fined 6,000 kroner by police for buying illegal fireworks have had their cases to drop their fines rejected by the European Court of Human Rights, reports public broadcaster DR.

Jacob Adrian Mikkelsen and Henrik Lindahl Christensen from DR’s Aarhus bureau bought the fireworks after infiltrating the illegal firework market for a story highlighting their easy availability.

After consulting with police in Aarhus and Copenhagen on how to proceed after acquiring the fireworks, they were told to take them to a police station.

But while the Aarhus police decided they would not charge the journalists for illegally purchasing the fireworks as the work was in the public interest, Copenhagen police charged the journalists when they brought the fireworks to the police station.

After been convicted in both city and high court in 2006 and 2007, the journalists attempted to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights to protest their fines.

They attempted to invoke article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights that guarantees freedom of speech in order to break laws without punishment in cases of public interest.

The court dismissed the case, however, as it deemed the purchase of the fireworks as not essential to the story as they had access to illegal fireworks already impounded by police.

The court also drew attention to the fact that while the police were informed, they had not been granted prior immunity and the fines of 6,000 kroner were not excessive.

“We bought the fireworks because we thought it was important to document it for the program. The fireworks were labelled and that allowed us to trace them back to established importers in Denmark. This is important information for the public,” said DR’s head of documentary Steen Jensen.

“But the court found that the purchase wasn’t necessary to extent that DR could be absolved of guilt for breaking the law preventing the sale of these fireworks,” he added.


(2011-6-9/cphpost)