ECtHR recognizes violations of rights of activists from three cities in Southern Russia

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) considered the claims filed by six residents of Rostov-on-Don, Volgograd, and Sochi, who were detained at protest actions in 2017-2018, and obliged Russia to pay them compensation for their illegal detentions and lack of fair trials. The lawsuits were filed before the Russia’s withdrawal from the Council of Europe (CE).

The “Kavkaz.Realii”* reports that Kirill Fabritsiev, a resident of Volgograd, was detained at a march against raising the retirement age on September 9, 2018. He was fined by a court’s decision. The ECtHR recognized that Kirill Fabritsiev was illegally deprived of liberty and that the court’s decision in Russia was not impartial. Kirill Fabritsiev was awarded compensation of 4000 euros.

Kirill Fabritsiev emphasized that he got an injury during his detention, as he “hit the back of his head hard on the asphalt.”

Mikhail Pchelin, a resident of Sochi, was detained at a protest action held by supporters of Alexei Navalny** in 2017 and fined for holding an action not sanctioned by the authorities. The court awarded him 3500 euros in compensation.

The ECtHR obliged the authorities of Russia to pay 5600 euros to Alexander Degtyaryov, a resident of Rostov-on-Don, for his detention in 2017 at two anti-corruption rallies held by supporters of Alexei Navalny**.

Anna Mescheryakova, Dmitry Fokanov, and Oleg Polyakov were awarded 3500 euros in compensation by the ECtHR for their detention at a rally in Volgograd on January 28, 2018, after which each of the activists was fined.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.

**Navalny’s offices are recognized as extremist organizations and are banned in Russia. Alexei Navalny is a founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (known as FBK), an NCO that is included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in the register of NCOs performing functions of a foreign agent. The NCO is also recognized by a court as extremist and banned in the territory of Russia.