In 2003, editor Roman Zakharov brought judicial proceeding against three mobile network operators, claiming that there had been a violation of his right to the privacy of his communications.
He maintained that Russia's SORM system (surveillance equipment installed at mobile phone companies) enables unrestricted interception of all telephone communications by the security services without prior judicial authorization.
He relied on Article 8 (right to privacy), arguing that Russia's national law permitted the security services to intercept, through technical means, any person's communications without obtaining prior judicial authorization.
[1] Russia maintained that Zakharov could not be considered a victim because Orange Slovensko, a. s. v. Slovakia upheld that private companies can install interception equipment without violating the Convention.
Furthermore, Russia argued that an applicant had to demonstrate a "reasonable likelihood" that their private life was being documented and recorded by security agencies.Exceptions to this rule were permissible only in the most unique of circumstances.