In the Chamber judgment on 21 July, in the case Heinisch v. Germany, the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been a violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The case concerned the dismissal of a geriatric nurse after having brought a criminal complaint against her employer alleging deficiencies in the care provided.

The applicant, Brigitte Heinisch, was employed as a geriatric nurse by Vivantes Netzwerk für Gesundheit GmbH, a company specialising in health care and assistance to the elderly which is majority-owned by the Berlin Land. From January 2002, she worked in a nursing home for the elderly operated by the company, where patients were dependent on special assistance. Between January 2003 and October 2004, Ms Heinisch and her colleagues regularly
indicated to the management that they were overburdened due to staff shortage and thus had difficulties carrying out their duties (more...).