In the case of SIC – Sociedade Independente de Comunicação v Portugal ([2021] ECHR 703) the Fourth Section of the European Court of Human Rights held that an award of damages totalling €146,000 euros (about £124,200) – a record in Portugal – to a politician wrongly linked to an investigation into a paedophile scandal in the Azores was disproportionate and could have a chilling effect on freedom of expression. Continue reading