Human Rights Defender Criticizes Investigative Body for Publishing Sensitive Personal Data

The Office of the Human Rights Defender has reported that during monitoring of social media and mass media, it identified that the investigative body released a statement on August 8, which included information related to the criminal proceedings, as well as personal and family details about an individual.

The Human Rights Defender considers the publication of personal and family life details in the public communication about a criminal case unacceptable. It is unclear what legal purpose the dissemination of such information serves and why it is necessary to inform the public about the proceedings.

Every crime should be punishable, and law enforcement agencies must have proper means to conduct comprehensive and impartial investigations. However, the fact of a person's arrest, their status as a defendant, being subjected to criminal prosecution, or any other circumstance does not negate their right to the inviolability of personal life and the importance of its protection, nor does it grant unlimited opportunity to publish personal data about individuals.

State bodies' dissemination of information for public communication purposes also implies a necessary and proportional assessment. Public interest, including existing social attention to the criminal proceedings, cannot itself justify the publication of personal life details.

This type of communication is particularly unacceptable from the perspective of protecting women's rights. From a human rights standpoint, it is also incomprehensible to emphasize sensitive information such as religious beliefs in public communications.

The Human Rights Defender also emphasizes that the public communication of state bodies should strictly adhere to the principle of presumption of innocence. The conduct of criminal proceedings or an arrest cannot be presented or covered in a manner that may create a biased perception of guilt among the public before there is a legally effective court ruling affirming guilt.

Once again, the Human Rights Defender stresses that the guarantee of human dignity, the protection of private and family life, personal data rights, and the presumption of innocence in the publication of information by law enforcement bodies is not merely a desirable practice but a duty of state bodies.

At the same time, various other reports related to the case have also been received at the Human Rights Defender's hotline. Under the instruction of the Human Rights Defender, a rapid response visit has been conducted to the investigative body to meet with individuals, familiarize with the state of their rights protection, and to investigate the issues at hand. Relevant actions are currently ongoing in connection with various inquiries. The information subject to publication will be presented subsequently after summarization.