“The exclusion of Mrs Rajavi in 1997 pre-dates, and was not linked to, the proscription of the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI). The de-proscription of this organisation therefore has no direct bearing on whether or not Mrs Rajavi's exclusion should be maintained, which involves wider considerations. The power to exclude is a serious one and I do not take such decisions lightly. In taking such decisions I must ensure that I am acting reasonably, proportionately and consistently and that there is a rational connection between the exclusion and the legitimate aim being pursued.”
“Whilst it is accepted that the MeK was de-proscribed by the UK in 2008 on the basis that it could not reasonably be believed to have continued to be concerned in terrorism since June 2001, the organisation’s historical activities and Mrs Rajavi’s past role in them as de facto leader cannot be ignored. It is widely recognised that the MeK was actively concerned in terrorist activities between the 1970s and 2001. Acts committed by the MeK during this period include attacks on western interests. It is against this background that Mrs Rajavi was excluded from the UK in 1997, following her move to Iraq from where she had urged the MeK to ‘liberate’ Iran, at a time when the MeK had continued to mount terrorist attacks there. The MeK’s history of terrorist violence until June 2001 and involvement in the Iran/Iraq war, where it was fighting with Iraqi forces against Iran, continues to resonate today. It has resulted in there being little support for the group among the general population in Iran, including anti-regime organisations, demonstrators and oppositionists, The FCO does not agree with Lord Carlile’s own assessment that Mrs Rajavi ‘leads the movement for democratic change in Iran’ (para 22 of his witness statement). It assesses that the MeK is not a credible opposition group in Iran. The well-known Iranian opposition, the Green Movement, for example, has publically distanced itself from any involvement in it. The UK has diplomatic relations with Iran. There is a British Embassy in Tehran and an Iranian Embassy in London. The UK has a strong interest in working with Iran on major policy issues including nuclear counter-proliferation, wider issues in the Middle East and human rights. Cooperation between both countries on issues of mutual importance also include reciprocal visa services (both diplomatic and public), consular services and cultural/educational exchanges. However, UK interests are affected by difficulties in UK-Iran bilateral relations. The Iranian regime perceives that negative intent lies behind the UK Government’s actions and statements. Any attempt at positive engagement by the UK is also viewed with scepticism. Anti-UK rhetoric by the Iranian authorities is frequent and both the President and the Iranian Parliament are particularly vocal in expressing their condemnation of the UK on a range of matters. This includes the perception that the UK is supportive of anti-Iranian extremist activities, including the sort historically carried out by the MeK. The 2008 deproscription of the MeK led to serious political protests from the Iranian authorities and demonstrations outside the British Embassy in Tehran, particularly as the MeK remains proscribed in Iran. The Iranian authorities believe that the deproscription of the MeK in the UK was politically motivated, notwithstanding attempts to explain otherwise. Similarly, the lifting of Mrs Rajavi's exclusion would also be seen by the Iranians as a deliberate political move against Iran, and, it is assessed, would have a wide-ranging negative impact on UK interests and day-to-day relations, as well as on the major policy areas such as nuclear counter-proliferation, human rights and wider issues in the Middle East. It may also result in accusations, however unjustified, of double standards in respect of the condemnation of terrorism. Any deterioration in relations would also be likely to impact on FCO efforts to replace their Ambassador to Tehran and an Iranian Ambassador in London. In short, it is assessed that lifting the exclusion would cause significant damage to the UK’s interests in relation to Iran and the UK's ability to engage with Iran on wider and crucial objectives. Whilst Mrs Rajavi is able to travel to other European Countries (in particular by virtue of the fact that she is resident in France), the particular nature of the UK-Iran bilateral relationship is such that a particularly strong reaction is expected if her exclusion is lifted. The presence of a British Embassy in Tehran means that staff there are particularly vulnerable to antiWestern sentiment in general and anti-UK sentiment in particular. There is substantial concern that if bilateral relations were to deteriorate as a consequence of the lifting of the exclusion order, there could be reprisals that put British nationals at risk and make further consular cooperation even more problematic. Historically, the Iranian Regime has actively targeted the British Embassy and staff members in Tehran. Even when tensions periodically ease, UK based staff members’ access to Iranian officials and information from the authorities has been difficult. Demonstrations outside the Embassy have included damage to property, invasion of compounds and restriction of staff movement due to the fears for personal safety. There have also been cases where British nationals have been held in detention for long periods, often on spurious charges and sometimes without consular access being granted. As Iran moves into a period of electoral activity once again, the Iranian regime is likely to direct accusations at the UK should there be any instability and a ramping up of rhetoric may also provoke an uncontrolled public reaction. When weighed against the serious potential effects of lifting the exclusion on the UK's interests in relation to Iran, the Secretary of State has concluded that the damage to the public interest significantly outweighs any interference with Mrs Rajavi’s ability to express her views as President-elect of the NCRI and with the Parliamentarians’ ability to meet her in person in London, particularly in view of the fact that Mrs Rajavi has many alternative means at her disposal for achieving these aims (e.g. meeting in France or a third country, or contact by video-link or other media). While it is argued by the claimants that there is an urgent need to discuss the future of Camp Ashraf with her, the Secretary of State does not consider that the desire of the original claimants to meet with Mrs Rajavi in London (as opposed to elsewhere, or by other media) is of itself of such importance that the future of Camp Ashraf will be materially affected if the exclusion is not lifted. That issue is considered ultimately to be for the sovereign government of Iraq and the leadership of Camp Ashraf to resolve; while debate about its future is acknowledged to be of value, there are acceptable means by which that debate can be continued even absent Mrs Rajavi’s physical presence in the United Kingdom. … In light of all the available evidence, the Secretary of State has decided that Mrs Rajavi’s exclusion from the UK must be maintained, is justified on foreign policy grounds and is proportionate to any limited interference with either her right of freedom of expression, or that of the Parliamentarians.”
“The lifting of Mrs Rajavi’s exclusion would be interpreted in Iran by both the regime and the people as a demonstration of UK support for what continues to be perceived as a terrorist organisation hostile to Iran (the MeK remains an illegal organisation in Iran). Iran continues to regard Mrs Rajavi as the leader of a terrorist organisation and often cites the POAC judgment, which removed the MeK from the UK's list of proscribed organisations, as evidence of UK support for terrorism. The complicity of the Iranian regime in the invasion of both UK diplomatic compounds in Tehran on29 November 2011 clearly demonstrated that the UK is the prime target in Iran for anti-western sentiment in the absence of US and Israeli embassies (a view which would be supported by almost any impartial academic or commentator). Following the events of29 November 2011 , the lifting of Mrs Rajavi’s exclusion from the UK could also be perceived by Iran as a purposeful political response to the 29 November attack on our Embassy, increasing the likelihood of an adverse Iranian response. The case for exclusion is not based purely on foreign policy grounds but also on grounds of UK security, especially the safety of HMG staff in Iran (there remain over one hundred local employees in Iran), the protection of UK assets that remain in Iran, and the security of UK personnel in the region. The assessment of risk has increased since the 29 November attack as Iran has demonstrated that it is prepared to sanction actions that breach international law. The Iranian regime would seek to respond to the lifting of the exclusion either by targeting our interests in Tehran, putting our local staff at risk, and/or the potential shift of risk to British interests and properties outside Iran which could now bear the brunt of any retaliatory action against the UK, both within and outside the region. Having carefully considered all the available evidence, the Secretary of State has decided that the decision of25 August 2011 to maintain Mrs Rajavi’s exclusion from the UK must be maintained and defended as it is justified on grounds including concerns about the welfare of British personnel and interests overseas and is proportionate to any limited interference with either her own or the relevant Parliamentarians’ human rights or right to freedom of expression.”
“Article 10 – Freedom of expression 1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This article shall not prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises. 2. The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.”
“The objection to the principle formulated by the Divisional Court is that it distracts attention from what, applying wellsettled principles of public law, was the right question: whether, in deciding that the public interest in pursuing an important investigation into alleged bribery was outweighed by the public interest in protecting the lives of British citizens, the Director made a decision outside the lawful bounds of the discretion entrusted to him by Parliament.”
“…the question depends on an exacting analysis of the factual case advanced in defence of the measure, in order to determine (i) whether its objective is sufficiently important to justify the limitation of a fundamental right; (ii) whether it is rationally connected to the objective; (iii) whether a less intrusive measure could have been used; and (iv) whether, having regard to these matters and to the severity of the consequences, a fair balance has been struck between the rights of the individual and the interests of the community. These four requirements are logically separate, but in practice they inevitably overlap because the same facts are likely to be relevant to more than one of them.”
“None of this means that the court is to take over the function of the decision-maker, least of all in a case like this one. As Maurice Kay LJ observed in the Court of Appeal, this case lies in the area of foreign policy and national security which would once have been regarded as unsuitable for judicial scrutiny. The measures have been opened up to judicial scrutiny by the express terms of the Act because they may engage the rights of designated persons or others under the European Convention on Human Rights. Even so, any assessment of the rationality Page 16 and proportionality of a Schedule 7 direction must recognise that the nature of the issue requires the Treasury to be allowed a large margin of judgment. It is difficult to think of a public interest as important as nuclear non-proliferation. The potential consequences of nuclear proliferation are quite serious enough to justify a precautionary approach. In addition, the question whether some measure is apt to limit the risk posed for the national interest by nuclear proliferation in a foreign country, depends on an experienced judgment of the international implications of a wide range of information, some of which may be secret. This is pre-eminently a matter for the executive. For my part, I wholly endorse the view of Lord Reed JSC that ‘the making of government and legislative policy cannot be turned into a judicial process.’”
“First, the Commission is not the primary decision-maker. Not only is the decision entrusted to the Home Secretary but he also has the advantage of a wide range of advice from people with day-to-day involvement in security matters which the Commission, despite its specialist membership, cannot match. Secondly, as I have just been saying, the question at issue in this case does not involve a yes or no answer as to whether it is more likely than not that someone has done something but an evaluation of risk. In such questions an appellate body traditionally allows a considerable margin to the primary decision-maker. Even if the appellate body prefers a different view, it should not ordinarily interfere with a case in which it considers that the view of the Home Secretary is one which could reasonably be entertained. Such restraint may not be necessary in relation to every issue which the Commission has to decide. As I have mentioned, the approach to whether the rights of an appellant under article 3 are likely to be infringed may be very different. But I think it is required in relation to the question of whether a deportation is in the interests of national security… I emphasise that the need for restraint is not based upon any limit to the Commission’s appellate jurisdiction. The amplitude of that jurisdiction is emphasised by the express power to reverse the exercise of a discretion. The need for restraint flows from a common-sense recognition of the nature of the issue and the differences in the decisionmaking processes and responsibilities of the Home Secretary and the Commission.”
“…the focus at Strasbourg is not and has never been on whether a challenged decision or action is the product of a defective decision-making process, but on whether, in the case under consideration, the applicant's Convention rights have been violated… The unlawfulness proscribed by section 6(1) is acting in a way which is incompatible with a Convention right, not relying on a defective process of reasoning, and action may be brought under section 7(1) only by a person who is a victim of an unlawful act.”
“The issue in these proceedings is not whether his decision was right or wrong, nor whether the Divisional Court or the House agrees with it, but whether it was a decision which the Director was lawfully entitled to make.”
“Thirdly, I would accept that great weight should be given to the judgment of the Home Secretary, his colleagues and Parliament on this question, because they were called on to exercise a pre-eminently political judgment. It involved making a factual prediction of what various people around the world might or might not do, and when (if at all) they might do it, and what the consequences might be if they did. Any prediction about the future behaviour of human beings (as opposed to the phases of the moon or high water at London Bridge) is necessarily problematical. Reasonable and informed minds may differ, and a judgment is not shown to be wrong or unreasonable because that which is thought likely to happen does not happen. It would have been irresponsible not to err, if at all, on the side of safety. As will become apparent, I do not accept the full breadth of the Attorney General's argument on what is generally called the deference owed by the courts to the political authorities. It is perhaps preferable to approach this question as one of demarcation of functions or what Liberty in its written case called ‘relative institutional competence’. The more purely political (in a broad or narrow sense) a question is, the more appropriate it will be for political resolution and the less likely it is to be an appropriate matter for judicial decision. The smaller, therefore, will be the potential role of the court. It is the function of political and not judicial bodies to resolve political questions. Conversely, the greater the legal content of any issue, the greater the potential role of the court, because under our constitution and subject to the sovereign power of Parliament it is the function of the courts and not of political bodies to resolve legal questions. The present question seems to me to be very much at the political end of the spectrum: see Secretary of State for the Home Department v Rehman [2003] I AC 153, para 62, per Lord Hoffmann.”
“Reasonableness and proportionality are not formal legal standards. They are substantive virtues, upon which, it may be thought, lawyers do not have the only voice: nor necessarily the wisest. Accordingly, the ascertainment of the weight to be given to the primary decision-maker's view (very often that of central government) can be elusive and problematic… The courts have a special responsibility in the field of human rights. It arises in part from the impetus of theHuman Rights Act 1998 , in part from the common law’s jealousy in seeing that intrusive state power is always strictly justified. The elected government has a special responsibility in what may be called strategic fields of policy, such as the conduct of foreign relations and matters of national security. It arises in part from considerations of competence, in part from the constitutional imperative of electoral accountability… The court's role is to see that the Government strictly complies with all formal requirements, and rationally considers the matters it has to confront. Here, because of the subject matter, the law accords to the executive an especially broad margin of discretion.”
“48. In the present case, the restriction on the applicants’ ability to communicate their views was limited to the entrance areas and passageways of the Galleries. It did not prevent them from obtaining individual permission from businesses within the Galleries (the manager of a hypermarket granted permission for a stand within his store on one occasion) or from distributing their leaflets on the public access paths into the area. It also remained open to them to campaign in the old town centre and to employ alternative means, such as calling door-to-door or seeking exposure in the local press, radio and television. The applicants did not deny that these other methods were available to them. Their argument, essentially, was that the easiest and most effective method of reaching people was to use the Galleries, as shown by the local authority’s own information campaign (see para 21 above). The Court does not consider however that the applicants can claim that they were as a result of the refusal of the private company, Postel, effectively prevented from communicating their views to their fellow citizens… 49. Balancing therefore the rights in issue and having regard to the nature and scope of the restriction in this case, the Court does not find that the Government failed in any positive obligation to protect the applicants’ freedom of expression.”
“Like the Government, it finds that a distinction must be drawn between the aim of the association and the means that it uses to achieve that aim. Accordingly, in the present case it might perhaps have been disproportionate to ban the association itself or its website on the basis of the above-mentioned factors… To limit the scope of the impugned restriction to the display of posters in public places was thus a way of ensuring the minimum impairment of the applicant association’s rights. The Court reiterates in this connection that the authorities are required, when they decide to restrict fundamental rights, to choose the means that cause the least possible prejudice to the rights in question… In view of the fact that the applicant association is able to continue to disseminate its ideas through its website, and through other means at its disposal such as the distribution of leaflets in the street or in letter-boxes, the impugned measure cannot be said to be disproportionate.”
“The Court notes, in this respect, the other media which remain open to the present applicant and it recalls that access to alternative media is key to the proportionality of a restriction on access to other potentially useful media… In particular, it remains open to the applicant NGO to participate in radio or TV discussion programmes of a political nature (ie broadcasts other than paid advertisements). It can also advertise on radio and television on a non-political matter if it sets up a charitable arm to do so and it has not been demonstrated that the costs of this are prohibitive. Importantly, the applicant has full access for its advertisement to non-broadcasting media including the print media, the internet (including social media), as well as to demonstrations, posters and flyers. Even if it has not been shown that the internet, with its social media, is more influential than the broadcast media in the respondent State (para 119 above), those new media remain powerful communication tools which can be of significant assistance to the applicant NGO in achieving its own objectives.”
“I would accept that great weight should be given to the judgment of the Home Secretary, his colleagues and Parliament on this question, because they were called on to exercise a pre- eminently political judgment. It involved making a factual prediction of what various people around the world might or might not do, and when (if at all) they might do it, and what the consequences might be if they did. Any prediction about the future behaviour of human beings (as opposed to the phases of the moon or high water at London Bridge) is necessarily problematical. Reasonable and informed minds may differ, and a judgment is not shown to be wrong or unreasonable because that which is thought likely to happen does not happen.”
“Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This article shall not prevent states from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises.”
“The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.”
“Mrs Rajavi is the leader of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). The NCRI acts as a parliament in exile for Iran and aims to establish a democratic secular and coalition government in Iran committed to the rule of law and respect for human rights. Until her exclusion from the United Kingdom in 1997 Mrs Rajavi was a visitor to the United Kingdom where she participated in the political and religious discourse in connection with Iran. She continues to contribute to this discourse elsewhere in the European Union. It is clear that the current regime in Iran object to her views … Mrs Rajavi is an eminent and highly respected dissident Iranian politician. She is an expert on the status of women in Iran, the threats posed by the Iranian regime's brand of Islamic fundamentalism, the regime's export of fundamentalism and sponsorship of terrorism, its interference in the affairs of Middle Eastern nations (including the malign role played by the regime in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Palestine, as well as North Africa) and pursuit of nuclear weapons. Since 1993, she has been the elected leader of the NCRI. As a woman and as a Muslim, she provides an important counterpoint to the religious and political beliefs expressed on behalf of the present regime in Iran. Despite the threat to her from that regime, she has continued to represent those who seek democracy, freedom of religion and respect for human rights in Iran. Although the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), a constituent member of the NCRI, believes in Islam (albeit that it advocates a secular state with separation of church and state), the NCRI contains many other members of different faiths and none.”
“4. As the Court no doubt will be aware, United Kingdom diplomatic relations with Iran have deteriorated significantly since my last witness statement. On 27 November, the Majles (Iranian Parliament) voted to expel our newly arrived Ambassador, Dominick Chilcott, citing both the United Kingdom's history of hostile policies towards Iran including its support for terrorism (ie the United Kingdom's deproscription of the MeK) and the announcement on21 November 2011 that together with a strengthening of sanctions against Iran by Canada and the US, the United Kingdom would sever all financial ties with Iran. 5. The following week, on the afternoon of29 November 2011 , a planned demonstration outside the British Embassy Tehran to mark the first anniversary of the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist (for which the United Kingdom is blamed by Iran together with the US and Israel), resulted in approximately two hundred regime-backed Basijj paramilitaries invading both our diplomatic compounds, including our residential compound to the north of Tehran. They set light to the Embassy building and ransacked and looted all our properties in an attack that went on for nearly six hours, with Police acquiescence. All British diplomatic staff left Iran shortly after this incident for their own safety and given the Iranian authorities' failure to protect the safety of our staff and diplomatic property, the Foreign Secretary ordered that the Iranian Embassy in London be closed and all Iranian diplomats were told to leave the United Kingdom within 48 hours. Diplomatic relations were reduced at this point to the lowest possible level, short of severing them completely.”
“… once the court is satisfied that the decision was within the range of decisions that could properly be made, proportionality does not require it to go on and be satisfied that the decision is correct.”
“In time of war or other public emergency threatening the life of the nation any High Contracting Party may take measures derogating from its obligations under this Convention to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation, provided that such measures are not inconsistent with its other obligations under international law.”
“… Articles 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the Convention require that interference with the exercise of the rights they enshrine must be assessed by the yardstick of what is ‘necessary in a democratic society’. The only type of necessity capable of justifying an interference with any of those rights is, therefore, one which may claim to spring from ‘democratic society’. Democracy thus appears to be the only political model contemplated by the Convention and, accordingly, the only one compatible with it.”
“The judgment of Dickson CJ in Oakes provides the clearest and most influential judicial analysis of proportionality within the common law tradition of legal reasoning. Its attraction as a heuristic tool is that, by breaking down an assessment of proportionality into distinct elements, it can clarify different aspects of such an assessment, and make value judgments more explicit. The approach adopted in Oakes can be summarised by saying that it is necessary to determine (1) whether the objective of the measure is sufficiently important to justify the limitation of a protected right, (2) whether the measure is rationally connected to the objective, (3) whether a less intrusive measure could have been used without unacceptably compromising the achievement of the objective, and (4) whether, balancing the severity of the measure's effects on the rights of the persons to whom it applies against the importance of the objective, to the extent that the measure will contribute to its achievement, the former outweighs the latter.”
“In relation to the fourth criterion, there is a meaningful distinction to be drawn (as was explained by McLachlin CJ in Alberta v Hutterian Brethren of Wilson Colony[2009] 2 SCR 567 , para 76) between the question whether a particular objective is in principle sufficiently important to justify limiting a particular right (step one), and the question whether, having determined that no less drastic means of achieving the objective are available, the impact of the rights infringement is disproportionate to the likely benefits of the impugned measure (step four).”
“31 The reasons why the courts are very slow to interfere are well understood. They are, first, that the powers in question are entrusted to the officers identified, and to no one else. No other authority may exercise these powers or make the judgments on which such exercise must depend. Secondly, the courts have recognised (as it was described in the cited passage from Matalulu v Director of Public Prosecutions) ‘the polycentric character of official decision-making in such matters including policy and public interest considerations which are not susceptible of judicial review because it is within neither the constitutional function nor the practical competence of the courts to assess their merits.’ Thirdly, the powers are conferred in very broad and unprescriptive terms.”
“(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This article shall not prevent states from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises. (2) The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.”
“Freedom of expression is, of course, intrinsically important: it is valued for its own sake. But it is well recognised that it is also instrumentally important. It serves a number of broad objectives. First, it promotes the self-fulfilment of individuals in society. Secondly, in the famous words of Holmes J (echoing John Stuart Mill), ‘the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market:’ Abrams v United States (1919) 250 US 616, 630, per Holmes J (dissenting). Thirdly, freedom of speech is the lifeblood of democracy. The free flow of information and ideas informs political debate. It is a safety valve: people are more ready to accept decisions that go against them if they can in principle seek to influence them. It acts as a brake on the abuse of power by public officials. It facilitates the exposure of errors in the governance and administration of justice of the country: see Stone, Seidman, Sunstein and Tushnet, Constitutional Law, 3rd ed (1996), pp 1078-1086.”
“(i) Freedom of expression constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and for each individual's selffulfilment. Subject to article 10.2, it is applicable not only to ‘information’ or ‘ideas’ that are favourably received or regarded as inoffensive or as a matter of indifference, but also to those that offend, shock or disturb. Such are the demands of that pluralism, tolerance and broadmindedness without which there is no 'democratic society'. As set forth in article 10, this freedom is subject to exceptions, which must, however, be construed strictly, and the need for any restrictions must be established convincingly. (ii) The adjective 'necessary', within the meaning of article 10.2, implies the existence of a 'pressing social need'.”
“In assessing the necessity of the interference in the light of the principles set out above (see paras 57-58), the court recalls that there is little scope under article 10.2 of the convention for restrictions on political speech or on debate on questions of public interest (see Wingrove v United Kingdom(1996) 1 BHRC 509 at 526 (para 58))”
“The Court recalls that the freedom of expression, enshrined in article 10.1, constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress. Subject to article 10.2, it is applicable not only to 'information' or 'ideas' that are favourably received or regarded as inoffensive or as a matter of indifference, but also to those that offend, shock or disturb. Such are the demands of that pluralism, tolerance and broadmindedness without which there is no ‘democratic society’. While freedom of expression is important for everybody, it is especially so for an elected representative of the people. He represents his electorate, draws attention to their preoccupations and defends their interests. Accordingly, interferences with the freedom of expression of an opposition Member of Parliament, like the applicant, call for the closest scrutiny on the part of the Court.”
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