European court turns down Stalin's grandson's bid to rid dictator of 'bloodthirsty cannibal' tag

London: The European Court of Human Rights has reportedly turned down a complaint brought in by one of Joseph Stalin's grandsons over an article published in a newspaper that accused the Soviet dictator of being a "bloodthirsty cannibal."

The report appeared in Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta in 2009 and focused on the Soviet leader's role in the 1940 massacre of Polish prisioners at Katyn. It said wartime Soviet leaders, including Stalin, were "bound by much blood" in ordering the execution of some 20,000 prisoners of war, reported the BBC.

Stalin's grandson, Yevgeny Dzhugashvili, claimed that it violated his right to privacy.

The court dismissed the complaint by saying that Stalin remained "inevitably" open to criticism.