Court Backs Latvian Journalist Raided for Criticizing Speed Cameras

She gets 20,000 euros for her troubles

Latvian journalist Ilze Nagla is a frequent critic of speed cameras. A few days after she exposed irregularities with photo radar devices used in her country, her home was raided by state police. Earlier this month, the European Court of Human Rights ordered the Latvian government to pay her 20,000 euros (US $26,500) in compensation for violating her rights.

Nagla's prime-time Sunday television news program, "De Facto" which airs on Latvijas televizija (LTV), infuriated the Ministry of the Interior with coverage of the bungled photo enforcement procurement that became a national scandal. The government wanted details of the contract to operate 160 speed cameras to be kept secret, but Nagla revealed something shady was happening. The deal was handed to the German firm Vitronic, which would take a 35 percent cut of the tickets as opposed to an Estonian firm Alarmtec that would only have taken 25 percent.