PARIS, November 15. /TASS/. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has satisfied the appeal of Russian opposition activist Alexey Navalny concerning his repeated arrests during unsanctioned rallies in Moscow, the press service of the Strasbourg-based ECHR said on Thursday.
The court rejected the arguments of the Russian side, ordering Moscow to pay 63,600 euro ($67,000) in compensation to Navalny, including 50,000 euro for non-pecuniary damage, 1,000 euro for pecuniary damage, and 12,600 euro for costs and expenses.
Europe’s top human rights court said that the Russian authorities had violated several articles of the European Convention of Human Rights, namely Article 5 ("Right to liberty and security"), Article 6 ("Right to a fair trial"), Article 11 ("Freedom of Assembly and Association"), and Article 18 ("Limitation on use of restrictions on rights").
The verdict of the ECHR’s Grand Chamber is final and binding.
Navalny’s appeal to the ECHR over his arrests during the 2012 and 2014 unsanctioned protests, totaled seven to be precise. His attorneys had deliberately demanded that the Strasbourg-based court recognize a breach of Article 18, effectively meaning that the opposition figure’s arrests were politically motivated.
Last February, the court satisfied his appeal bid, ordering to pay him 63,600 euros in damages. The ECHR ruled at the time that Articles 5, 6, and 11 had been broken without confirming violation of Article 18.
Moscow didn’t agree with the verdict, neither did the opposition activist’s attorneys, so both parties filed appeals. The Russian Justice Ministry said that the arguments of the Strasbourg-based court lacked a thorough explanation of all the circumstances, while Navalny’s defense sought to confirm the violation of Article 18.