KALDA v. ESTONIA JUDGMENT
11
people (such as prisoners) to access information through specific channels.
According to the Government, prisoners were not in a position comparable
to that of persons at liberty.
37. The Government submitted that the restriction of prisoners’ access to
the Internet had a legal basis in section 31-1 of the Imprisonment Act. The
aim of that provision was to maintain prison security and the safety of
persons outside the prison, as well as the prevention of crime and the
protection of victims.
38. The Government considered that the restriction was proportionate to
the aims pursued. Granting access only to specific websites that constituted
the official databases of legislation and the database of judicial decisions
was justified by the demands of security. Making additional websites
available and technically as secure as possible would incur additional
expense. In view of the fact that all websites contained references, search
engines, links (including to social networks), and the like, and having regard
to the fact that websites were updated on a daily basis, it was impossible to
completely avoid or prevent security vulnerabilities. It could not be ruled
out, for technical reasons, that prisoners could misuse the Internet. Thus,
granting prisoners access to additional websites would increase the risk that
they might obtain information prejudicial to the realisation of the objectives
of imprisonment. The effort needed to reduce the risks arising from such
additional access – such risks could not be completely eliminated – would
be excessive in comparison with the benefits gained by granting prisoners
wider access to the Internet. Thus, the distinction between permitted and
prohibited websites was a carefully weighed compromise between the
applicant’s rights and public safety.
39. The Government pointed out that the restriction in question only
concerned one channel of information and did not restrict the right of
prisoners to engage in correspondence and make telephone calls as
alternative ways of obtaining public information. Thus, the applicant was
still able exercise his right to information under Article 10; the applicable
legislation only restricted the possibility to obtain such information through
the Internet. The Government also provided a detailed overview of the
information contained on the websites in question and explained how the
applicant could access it by means other than the Internet.
40. The Government noted that the website of the Council of Europe
Information Office in Tallinn had been operational until 29 December 2010.
Since 2010 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had published retroactively
Estonian translations of the Court’s judgments made in respect of Estonia
and summaries in Estonian of key judgments made in respect of other
countries. On 20 January 2012 the online version of Riigi Teataja had
started publishing Estonian summaries of the judgments of the Court, and
since 2013 it had also contained Estonian translations of all judgments in
respect of Estonia.
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