Russian authorities repeatedly undermined public protests against alleged corruption, ineffective governance and the repression of civil liberties
In the case of Lashmankin and Others v. Russia* the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had
been: violations of Articles 11 (freedom of assembly), 13 (right to an
effective remedy) in conjunction with 11, 5 (right to liberty) and 6 (right to
a fair trial) of the European Convention on Human Rights. 23 applicants from
different parts of Russia alleged that local authorities had imposed severe
restrictions on peaceful assemblies planned by them, without any
proper
justification. The Court found that the authorities had placed such severe
limitations on the applicants’ plans for public events, they had violated the
applicants’ right to freedom of assembly. The restrictions included requirements
for the location, time or manner of conduct that undermined the very purpose of
the event (for example, by specifying that it had to be held out of the town
centre, where nobody would see it).
These restrictions – along with a wide
range of other measures taken against the applicants - had been
disproportionate and unjustified. Furthermore, they had been based on legal
provisions which had not protected against an arbitrary and discriminatory use
of the authorities’ power. There had also been no legal procedure available
that would have allowed the applicants to properly challenge the authorities’
decisions.
In respect of pecuniary damage, the Court held that Russia was to
pay Mr Tarasov 450 euros (EUR). In respect of non-pecuniary damage, the Court
held that Russia was to pay three applicants EUR 10,000, 14 applicants EUR
7,500, and five applicants EUR 5,000. In respect of costs and expenses, the
Court held that Russia was to pay nine of the applicants a total of EUR 11,600. Read the judgment here
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*(application no. 57818/09, 51169/10, 4618/11, 19700/11, 31040/11, 47609/11, 55306/11, 59410/11, 7189/12, 16128/12, 16134/12, 20273/12, 51540/12, 64243/12, and 37038/13)
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