The ECHR sided with a human rights activist convicted of theft

The European Court of Human Rights considered the complaint of Aleksey Sokolov, head of the Legal Basis organization in Yekaterinburg. about this The human rights activist wrote on his Facebook page.

In 2009, Sokolov was arrested on a falsified case - for robbery, and in 2010 the court sentenced the human rights activist to five years in a strict regime colony already on two other articles - theft and robbery. “The conviction was built solely on the testimony of those already convicted” in this case, according to “politzeky.ru”. Then the term was reduced by two years, and in 2011 the man was released on parole.

Sokolov's activities to be the reason for the persecution Human rights activists consider . He conducted investigations of official crimes in the Yekaterinburg correctional colony No. 2. Sokolov made the film “Torture Factory or Pedagogical Experience” about the violation of human rights in places of detention.

The European Court found it illegal to keep Aleksey Sokolov in a metal cage during the trial under Article 3 of the European Convention on the Prohibition of Torture. The court also saw a violation of paragraphs 1, 3 and 4 of Article 5 of the EC - “The right to liberty and security of person”.

In addition, the ECHR considered that the human rights activist should have been allowed to go to the funeral of his parents, and placing him in a remote colony was unlawful. These actions are contrary to Article 8 of the European Convention - "The right to respect for private and family life."

The ECHR ordered Russia to pay Alexei Sokolov 10,000 euros in compensation for moral damages and 1,600 euros for expenses.