The Council of Europe called for Navalny to be allowed to participate in the elections

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe called on the Russian authorities to allow Alexei Navalny to the presidential elections in Russia in March 2018. It is reported by RBC.

The Committee of Ministers oversees the execution of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. According to European officials, the decision of the ECHR is not being implemented by the Russian authorities - the Russian Federation continues to infringe on Navalny's rights in terms of the opportunity to participate in elections. Russia was urged to "urgently take measures to eliminate the consequences" of violations of the politician's rights.

• On July 18, 2013, the Leninsky Court of Kirov sentenced Navalny and Ofitserov to five and four years in prison on charges of embezzlement of property from the Kirovles company (part 4 of article 160 of the Criminal Code with application of part 3 of article 33).
• On October 16, 2013, the Court of Appeal replaced the sentences for both with suspended sentences - this was preceded by mass protests in a number of Russian cities.
• On February 23, 2016, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg recognized that Navalny and Ofitserov were convicted for acts that cannot be distinguished from ordinary business activities. At the same time, recognizing that the Russian court should take into account the figure of Navalny and his public activities, the ECHR did not see a political motive in the Kirovles case. In accordance with the decision of the ECHR, Russia had to pay Navalny and Ofitserov a total of 71,000 euros in compensation for legal costs and 8,000 euros each in damages.
• On November 16, 2016, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation overturned the verdict and sent the "Kirovles case" for retrial.
• On February 8, 2017, Navalny and Ofitserov were found guilty and sentenced, respectively, to five and four years of suspended imprisonment, as well as a fine of 500,000 rubles each.