31 March 2023, 20:50
ECtHR recognizes violation of protesters' rights in Southern Russia
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has awarded compensations to nine residents of Rostov-on-Don, Volgograd and Krasnodar, who were detained at protests in 2017, despite the fact that Russia refused to enforce its decisions.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 23, the ECtHR awarded compensations to participants and organizers of the protests in Astrakhan, Volgograd and Krasnodar, although Russia refused to enforce ECtHR's decisions.
On March 30, the ECtHR ruled on the cases of protesters in Russia, recognizing the violation of their rights to the freedom of assembly and a fair trial. Among those to whom the Court awarded compensation, there are residents of Kuban (Krasnodar Territory), Rostov and Volgograd Regions.
In the case of "Didenko et al vs. Russia", the ECtHR has recognized the violation of the rights of Volgograd residents Irina and Mikhail Didenko, who were detained in March 2017 for protests against corruption. As a result, they were fined. The ECtHR has awarded them compensation of 4000 euros each.
Two more participants in this action in Volgograd, Svetlana and Alexander Abolonin, were also fined by 10,000 roubles each; the ECtHR has ruled to pay them 3500 euros each.
On March 26, 2017, actions against corruption were held in many Russian cities; they became a public reaction to the inquiry into a major corruption scheme using charitable funds. In the Southern Federal District (SFD) and the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD), the rallies turned into mass detentions.
The applicants described the facts of unlawful detention, violence and other pressure from law enforcers: mobile phones were taken away from detained activists; they were forcibly fingerprinted and photographed, the "OVD-Info"* human rights project has noted.
Prior to Russia's exit from the Council of Europe, the consideration at the ECtHR was a very efficient legal mechanism, Vitaly Katsko, a lawyer, has noted.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 31, 2023 at 04:32 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: Caucasian Knot
