European Court judges in Strasbourg have ruled against Germany in an assisted suicide case, saying a widower's rights were infringed. Ulrich Koch challenged the German ban on actively helping someone commit suicide. His paralysed wife died after taking poison in Switzerland in 2005. The judges did not rule on the ban, but said the German courts should have examined Mr Koch's complaint. On assisted suicide, the judges said it was up to individual nations to decide. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordered Germany to pay Mr Koch 2,500 euros (£1,600; $2,460) in damages and 26,736 euros for legal costs. There was a violation of Article Eight of the European Convention on Human Rights (right to respect for private and family life) because of the German courts' refusal to examine the merits of Mr Koch's complaint, the ruling said.