Европейский суд по правам человека
14 марта 2002 года
Facts
The applicant, Mr. Puzinas, was serving a prison sentence. He was communicating with various national and international institutions regarding the prison administrations’ refusal to transfer him to another prison. The letters he received from the Council of the Baltic Sea States and the European Commission of Human Rights had been opened by the prison authorities. A letter to his wife was also opened and censored.
Complaint
Mr. Puzinas alleged that the control and censorship of his correspondence by the prison administration amounted to a violation of his right to respect for his correspondence.
Court's ruling
The Court agreed that the intervention with Mr. Puzinas right to respect for his correspondence was prescribed by the Lithuanian law and it had a legitimate aim - the prevention of disorder and crime. However, since the government had provided no specific reasons for opening or censoring his correspondence, the Court could not find such interference necessary.
Therefore the Court ruled that there has been a violation of the right to respect for the correspondence of Mr. Puzinas.