Russia agrees to pay Alexey Navalny compensation for his detention amid the 2012 Bolotnaya Square protests

The Russian Justice Ministry has declined to appeal a European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling from November 2020, obliging Russia to pay opposition politician Alexey Navalny compensation for his detention amid the Bolotnaya Square protests in 2012. This was reported by Interfax, citing the Justice Ministry’s press service.

Spokespeople explained that the Russian Justice Ministry won’t be challenging the decision because “the ECHR refused to consider the complainants’ claims about the Russian authorities violating article 18 of Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms ([which] limits the use of restrictions on rights).”

“In the rest of the judgement, the ECHR’s conclusions are based on well-established case-law, widely applied in similar cases in relation to various Council of Europe member states,” said the Justice Ministry.

In November, the European Court of Human Rights upheld Alexey Navalny’s claim filed over his detention during the “March of Millions” rally on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow on May 6, 2012. The court ruled that during Navalny’s detention, the Russian authorities violated his right to liberty and personal security, his right to a fair trial, his right to freedom of assembly and association, as well as the European Convention’s article on the prohibition of torture. The ECHR awarded Navalny 8,500 euros (about $10,300) in compensation.

Alexey Navalny was arrested on January 17, immediately upon returning to Moscow from Germany, where he spent nearly five months in recovery after an attempt on his life in August 2020. On February 2, a Moscow court sentenced Navalny to nearly three years in prison for violating his parole while abroad.