Russia bans Che Guevara image usage in election campaigns

The Russian Supreme Court has banned the use of the image of Cuban revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara in election campaigns, state-owned daily Vedomosti revealed on Tuesday.

The ban was issued after a lawsuit against the Communists of Russia party for using Che's image in its campaign for regional elections held in 2014, Efe news reported citing the daily.

Despite the argument of political parties that the image of Che has become a universal symbol of the struggle for justice, the high court said in its order that the enforcement of copyright on the image and work of the revolutionary has not expired.

Communists of Russia described the Supreme Court decision as disproportionate and recalled that so far in similar cases the courts were limited to requisition of the prohibited electoral agitation materials.

The Communist Party of Russia has also reported that since the enforcement of the law on protection of intellectual property, there has not been a single election where that legislation was not used to get rid of communists.