“I am following with concern the smear campaign against journalist Ida Erämaa in Finland. This is a serious case which should not remain unsanctioned” said today the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović.
“Since publishing a newspaper column over the weekend which criticises the government, Ida Erämaa has been subjected to a large amount of online abuse, including threats of physical and sexual violence. Several elected officials have made personal comments about Ms Erämaa through social media, with the apparent aim of discrediting her as a journalist. I welcome statements to the effect that some of the parliamentary parties intend to investigate such comments.
Finland has a long-standing tradition of maintaining high standards of respect for freedom of expression, but targeted attacks directed at individuals, that go beyond legitimate criticism of the media, may have a chilling effect on the press and undermine this human right. The sexist and gendered nature of some of the abuse received by Ms Erämaa should also be taken into account in any investigations. In my Human Rights Comment “No space for violence against women and girls in the digital world”, which addresses the phenomenon of online gender-based violence, I noted the fact that women are considerably more likely to be victims of repeated and severe forms of harmful online actions and offered recommendations to member states on how to address this.
Hate speech is not protected speech. Public figures, such as politicians and high-level officials, have therefore both an obligation and a responsibility to refrain from using hate speech and stigmatising language, and to condemn unequivocally their use by others. Indeed, silence or weak reactions may be perceived as condoning such behaviour, which in turn may lead to additional verbal and physical violence.
I therefore call on the Finnish authorities to clearly condemn the smear campaign and any violent online threats made against journalist Ida Erämaa, to investigate the incident and provide any assistance she may need.”