The ECHR awarded compensation to Denis Bakholdin due to “excessively long” detention in a pre-trial detention center

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has awarded 2,600 euros in compensation to Denis Bakholdin, a pro-Ukrainian activist from Moscow. It is reported by Mediazona with reference to the court decision .

The court found that the Russian authorities violated the right to trial within a reasonable time or to release pending trial (Part 3, Article 5 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms). Bakholdin spent more than two years in custody. In the colony, the activist served his sentence for about two months, most of the time he was in pre-trial detention centers in Moscow and the Bryansk region, where he was detained.

The ECtHR document also states that the Russian authorities have shown a “failure to assess the personal situation of the applicant [Bakholdin], which reduces the risk of reoffending, conspiring or escaping.”

Together with Bakholdin, three more Russians received compensation: the ECHR awarded Mikhail Maslov 1,300 euros, Rostislav Malakhov - 2,800 euros, and Denis Nikulin - 1,400 euros. Maslov spent nine months in custody, Malakhov more than two years, and Nikulin was in jail for a year and three months.

• Shortly before his release, Bakholdin was visited by FSB officers. They promised that after his release, he would not have an easy life, “Big Brother” would follow him, and he would not be able to leave the country. In addition, they told the activist that they would "definitely meet him" on the day of his release.
• Bakholdin was found guilty under the article on participation in the activities of an organization recognized as extremist in Russia (part 2 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). According to the court, in 2014 Bakholdin left for the territory of Ukraine and participated in the hostilities in the Donbass as part of the Right Sector volunteer battalion. The activist was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.
• Denis Bakholdin was detained in March 2017. The activist said that after being detained, he was handcuffed to a radiator for 12 hours and beaten on his legs and head, demanding a confession.