The ECHR awarded compensation to seven Russians for illegal detentions during protests

The European Court of Human Rights declared illegal the detention of seven Russians during public actions and awarded them compensation in the total amount of 26,400 euros. This is reported by Apology. The decision on the complaint "Kavkazsky and Others v. Russia" is published on the website of the court.

The Court held that the Russian authorities violated the applicants' rights to liberty and security of person, as well as to a fair trial (Articles 5 and 6 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms). Evgeny Mironov, Mikhail Smirnov, Sergei Yakovlev, Maxim Chumakov, Arsenijs Litovs, Timur Almaev were awarded 3,900 euros each, Nikolai Kavkazsky - 3,000 euros.

Nikolay Kavkazsky was detained on May 17, 2015 during a flash mob on the International Day against Homophobia. He was taken to the police department for a preventive conversation and was released two hours later. At the same time, the officers did not draw up a protocol of detention.

Yevgeny Mironov was detained on March 26, 2017 at the action against corruption “He is not Dimon to you”, organized by the headquarters of Alexei Navalny. He was kept in a paddy wagon for more than an hour, then taken to the police station, where he stayed for another three hours. The court fined Mironov 15,000 rubles under the article on violation of the rules for holding the action (part 5 of article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). Later, the fine was reduced to 10 thousand rubles.

Mikhail Smirnov, Sergei Yakovlev, Maxim Chumakov, Arsenijs Litovs and Timur Almaev were detained on June 12, 2017 at anti-corruption rallies in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The court appointed Smirnov 24 hours of compulsory labor and 14 days of arrest under the article on disobeying the demand of a police officer (Article 19.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). Yakovlev was kept in a paddy wagon for three hours, and then another nine hours in the police department. He was fined 11,000 rubles under articles on violating the rules of the action and disobeying the demand of a police officer. Chumakov, after being detained, spent an hour in a police car and four more at the police station, the court fined him 10,000 rubles. Litovs was also kept in the police car for an hour; he spent five hours at the police station. The court fined him 10 thousand rubles. Almaev spent an hour in a paddy wagon, four hours in the police department, the court fined him 15,000 rubles.

The interests of Yevgeny Mironov, Sergei Yakovlev, Maxim Chumakov, Arsenijs Litovs and Timur Almaev were represented at the ECtHR by attorneys and lawyers from Memorial Human Rights Center with the support of OVD-Info.