The Council of Europe called for Navalny to be allowed to participate in the elections. The Ministry of Justice called it pressure

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has announced that Russia must take steps "to ensure that Mr. [Aleksey] Navalny is running for office." This is stated in a press release following a review of how Russia is implementing the decision of the ECtHR in the Kirovles case.

The Council of Europe noted that after the decision of the court, the case was transferred in Russia for a new trial, but to the same instance. Compensation for an unfair decision, according to the committee, was not provided.

The Russian Ministry of Justice responded that compensation had been paid to Navalny and the second person involved in the case, Pyotr Ofitserov, in full, and "a review of the verdict disputed by the applicants has been made."

The Ministry of Justice called the recommendations of the Committee of Ministers on participation in the elections an attempt to "political pressure on the Russian authorities in the upcoming electoral period."

• In 2013, Navalny and Ofitserov were found guilty in Russia for forcing the Kirovles enterprise to sell them goods at a reduced price in order to sell them at a profit.
• After an appeal, the ECtHR acknowledged that a Russian court had passed a sentence for activities that could not be distinguished from ordinary business and demanded a retrial of the case.
• The review took place in 2017. Navalny and Ofitserov were again found guilty and given five and four years of probation, respectively.
• The court verdict that has entered into force by law prohibits Navalny from running for president in 2018. Despite this, Navalny has been campaigning for months now.