ECtHR Rules Russian Authorities Repeatedly Violated Activist’s Human Rights (February 2, 2017) [1]
On February 2, 2017, a Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled [3] in Navalnyy v. Russia that Russian authorities repeatedly violated the human rights of Aleksey Navalnyy, an activist and political opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, by arbitrarily arresting him, unlawfully depriving him of liberty, and subjecting him to unfair trial. According to the press release [4], Navalnyy was arrested on two occasions in the wake of Putin’s 2012 election during peaceful protests, held arbitrarily and without justification, and subjected to trials “not based on an acceptable assessment of the relevant facts, in violation of the right to a fair hearing.” The court awarded Navalnyy 1,025 euros for pecuniary damage, 50,000 euros for non-pecuniary damage, and 12,653 euros in respect of costs and expenses.In a separate legal proceeding a Russian judge convicted [5] Navalnyy of fraud, which effectively bars him from running for the Russian presidency in 2018—as he planned to do—if the ruling is not overturned. He says the claims of fraud are baseless and that he will appeal the decision.