Background
Matti Paloaro and Pentti Eerikäinen were journalists. They published an article about the prosecution of a businesswoman who was accused of deceiving the Social Insurance Institution and insurance companies. The businesswoman was later convicted of fraud and sentenced to almost two years in prison.
Before her conviction, the businesswoman sued the journalists. The Finnish courts upheld her claim, finding that the journalists had invaded her privacy by revealing her identity as someone charged with fraud. The journalists were made to pay the businesswoman the equivalent of €3,364 in damages, as well as legal costs.