As a result of the monitoring of social media and mass media in the human rights defender's office, it was recorded that in the criminal proceedings, in the message distributed by the investigative body on August 8, data related to the proceedings and at the same time related to the personal and family life of the person were published.
The defender of human rights considers it unacceptable to publish data related to a person's personal and family life within the framework of public communication regarding criminal proceedings. It is not clear what legal purpose is pursued by the disclosure of the mentioned data and why is it necessary to inform the public about the proceedings?
Any crime should be punishable and law enforcement agencies should have the proper opportunity to conduct a full and comprehensive investigation of the cases. At the same time, a person's arrest, accused status, criminal prosecution or any other circumstance does not eliminate the right to privacy of a person and the importance of its protection, and does not give an unlimited opportunity to publish personal data about people.
Dissemination of information by state bodies for the purpose of public communication also implies an assessment of necessity and proportionality. The public interest, including public attention to criminal proceedings, cannot in itself justify the publication of personal data.
Such a message is particularly unacceptable and sensitive from the point of view of protection of women's rights.
From the point of view of human rights, in this context, it is also unclear to emphasize such sensitive information as the circumstance related to religious belief within the framework of public communication.
The human rights defender also emphasizes that the public communication of state bodies must strictly comply with the principle of presumption of innocence. The conduct of criminal proceedings or the arrest of a person may not be presented or covered in such a format that may create a prejudiced attitude among the public about his guilt, before the existence of a legally effective judicial act confirming the guilt.
The human rights defender emphasizes once again that guaranteeing human dignity, private and family life, protection of personal data and the presumption of innocence during the publication of information by law enforcement agencies is not a desired practice, but a duty of state agencies.
At the same time, various other calls related to the case were also received on the HRD hotline. On the instructions of the human rights defender, a quick response visit was carried out to the investigative body in order to visit the persons, get to know and study the state of ensuring their rights on the spot. At this time, appropriate actions are being taken in relation to various issues. After summarizing them, the information to be published will be presented additionally.
