Helsinki – A kiss-and-tell book about Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen violated his right to privacy, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The author – Susan Ruusunen, whom Vanhanen once dated – and the publisher of the book were ordered to pay fines for having disclosed intimate details of the relationship.
Publisher Kari Ojala was also fined 1,000 euros (1,200 dollars) for causing Vanhanen emotional distress, the verdict said.
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YLE adds more about the decision:
The Supreme Court noted in its decision that under the European Convention on Human Rights the protection of private life also extends to politicians and others in prominent positions in society. It added that Vanhanen’s position as Prime Minister did mean that the protection of his privacy was less broad than that of a private individual, but that not even a leading politician is wholly without legal protection of private affairs.
I suspect a lot of celebrities and politicians here wish we had the same approach and legal protections for their privacy.