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On February 25, 2016, the European Court of Human Rights ruled (judgment only available in French) that ordering the blacking out of a photograph depicting a torture victim had not violated Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. According to the press release, the case involved the lawsuit initiated by family members of I.H. against a publishing company for printing a picture of their relative showing him “wearing shackles and showing visible signs of ill-treatment,” taken when he was held captive and tortured for three weeks. The domestic litigation culminated in an order “requiring the photograph in question to be blacked out in all the magazines put on sale” and paying compensation to the family. The Court noted that the article featuring the pictures had contributed to the general interest, but also stressed that the picture, which had not been intended for public use, was published without the consent of the victim’s family. Stressing the “importance [of] journalists’ assumption of their ethical duties and responsibilities,” the Court found that the “publication of the photograph had shown a grave disregard for the grief of the young man’s family.” It further noted “that journalists were required to take into account the impact of the information and pictures which they published, especially where these were liable to adversely affect the private and family life of other persons.” Addressing the domestic court’s order, the Court ruled that the “respect for the publication as a whole” had been preserved as there had been no further interference with the text or other images. The Court stated that considering the circumstances of the case, the “penalty imposed had not been liable to have a chilling effect on freedom of expression” and thus concluded that the restrictions imposed by the domestic courts had been “based on relevant and sufficient reasons and had been proportionate to the legitimate aim pursued.”