Lexploria

SECOND SECTION

CASE OF RAZUMOV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA

(Applications nos. 27850/18 and 19 others â€“

see appended list)

JUDGMENT

STRASBOURG

11 May 2023

This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.

In the case of Razumov and Others v. Russia,

The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:

Lorraine Schembri Orland , President , FrÃ©dÃ©ric Krenc, Davor DerenÄinoviÄ‡ , judges ,

and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having deliberated in private on 13 April 2023,

Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:

PROCEDURE

1. The case originated in applications against Russia lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (â€œthe Conventionâ€) on the various dates indicated in the appended table.

2. The Russian Government (â€œthe Governmentâ€) were given notice of the applications.

THE FACTS

3. The list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.

4. The applicants complained of the disproportionate measures taken against them as organisers or participants of public assemblies. Some applicants also raised other complaints under the provisions of the Convention.

THE LAW

5. Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.

6. The Court observes that the facts giving rise to the alleged violations of the Convention occurred prior to 16 September 2022, the date on which the Russian Federation ceased to be a party to the Convention. The Court therefore decides that it has jurisdiction to examine the present applications (see Fedotova and Others v. Russia [GC], nos. 40792/10 and 2 others, Â§Â§ 68 â€‘ 73, 17 January 2023).

7. The applicants complained principally of disproportionate measures taken against them as organisers or participants of public assemblies, namely the dispersal of these assemblies, as well as their arrest followed by their conviction for administrative offence. They relied, expressly or in substance, on Article 11 of the Convention.

8. The Court refers to the principles established in its case-law regarding freedom of assembly (see KudreviÄius and Others v. Lithuania [GC], no. 37553/05, ECHR 2015, with further references) and proportionality of interference with it (see Oya Ataman v. Turkey , no. 74552/01, ECHR 2006 â€‘ XIV, and Hyde Park and Others v. Moldova , no. 33482/06, 31 March 2009).

9. In the leading cases of Frumkin v. Russia, no. 74568/12, ECHR 2016 (extracts), Navalnyy and Yashin v. Russia, no. 76204/11, 4 December 2014, and Kasparov and Others v. Russia, no. 21613/07, 3 October 2013, the Court already found a violation in respect of issues similar to those in the present case.

10. Having examined all the material submitted to it, having dismissed the Governmentâ€™s objection of non-exhaustion of domestic remedies (see Smadikov v. Russia (dec.), no. 10810/15, 31 January 2017) and having due regard to the issue of compliance with the six-month period under Article 35 Â§ 1 of the Convention (see Saakashvili v. Georgia (dec.), nos. 6232/20 and 22394/20, Â§Â§ 46-59, 1 March 2022, in which the Court addressed the COVID related extension of the period in question), the Court has not found any fact or argument capable of persuading it to reach a different conclusion as to the admissibility and merits of these complaints. Having regard to its case-law on the subject, the Court considers that in the instant case the interferences with the applicantsâ€™ freedom of assembly were not â€œnecessary in a democratic societyâ€.

11. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 11 of the Convention.

12. Some applicants submitted other complaints which also raised issues under the Convention, given the relevant well-established case-law of the Court (see appended table). These complaints are not manifestly ill-founded within the meaning of Article 35 Â§ 3 (a) of the Convention, nor are they inadmissible on any other ground. Accordingly, they must be declared admissible. Having examined all the material before it, the Court concludes that they also disclose violations of the Convention in the light of its findings in its well-established case-law (see Butkevich v. Russia , no. 5865/07, Â§Â§ 63 â€‘ 65, 13 February 2018, Tsvetkova and Others v. Russia , nos. 54381/08 and 5 others, Â§Â§ 121-23, 10 April 2018, Kalyapin v. Russia [Committee], no. 6095/09, Â§ 76, 23 July 2019, concerning various aspects of unlawful deprivation of liberty of organisers or participants of public events; and Karelin v. Russia , no. 926/08, 20 September 2016, related to the examination of criminal cases in the absence of a prosecuting party in the judicial proceedings governed by the Federal Code of Administrative Offences (CAO)).

13. In view of the above findings, the Court considers that there is no need to deal separately with the applicantsâ€™ complaints under Article 6 of the Convention concerning other aspects of the fairness of the administrative offence proceedings and alleged restrictions on the right to examine witnesses.

14. Article 41 of the Convention provides:

â€œIf the Court finds that there has been a violation of the Convention or the Protocols thereto, and if the internal law of the High Contracting Party concerned allows only partial reparation to be made, the Court shall, if necessary, afford just satisfaction to the injured party.â€

15. Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case â€‘ law (see, in particular, Navalnyy and Others v. Russia [Committee], nos. 25809/17 and 14 others, Â§ 22, 4 October 2022), the Court finds it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.

FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,

(a) that the respondent State is to pay the applicants, within three months, the amounts indicated in the appended table, to be converted into the currency of the respondent State at the rate applicable at the date of settlement;

(b) that from the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amounts at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.

Done in English, and notified in writing on 11 May 2023, pursuant to Rule 77 Â§Â§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.

Viktoriya Maradudina Lorraine Schembri Orland Acting Deputy Registrar President

APPENDIX

List of applications raising complaints under Article 11 of the Convention

(disproportionate measures against organisers and participants of public assemblies)

No.

Application no.

Date of introduction

Applicantâ€™s name

Year of birth

Representativeâ€™s name and location

Name of the public event

Location

Date

Administrative charges

Penalty

Final domestic decision

Court Name

Date

Other complaints under well-established case-law

Amount awarded for pecuniary and non â€‘ pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant

(in euros) [1]

27850/18

29/05/2018

Andrey Igorevich RAZUMOV

1997Zhdanov Ivan Yuryevich

Vilnius

Rally in support of A. Navalnyy

Yaroslavl

07/10/2017

Article 20.2 Â§ 6.1 of CAO

20 hours of compulsory labour

Yaroslavl Regional Court

29/11/2017

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty, including unrecorded detention and detention without a judicial order and any other legal basis â€“ arrest and detention on 07/10/2017 for more than 3 hours for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence,

Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of tribunal - absence of the prosecuting party in the administrative proceedings

4,000

53532/18

02/11/2018

Yuriy Nikolayevich ALTUKHOV

1984Zhdanov Ivan Yuryevich

Vilnius

Manifestation against Putinâ€™s re-election

Voronezh

05/05/2018

Article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

fine of 10,000 Russian roubles (RUB)

Voronezh Regional Court

18/06/2018

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty, including unrecorded detention and detention without a judicial order and any other legal basis - arrest and detention on 05/05/2018 for more than 3 hours for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence,

Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of tribunal - absence of a prosecuting party in the administrative proceedings

4,000

58172/18

30/11/2018

Aleksey Valeryevich TYURIN

1984Glukhov Aleksey Vladimirovich

Novocheboksarsk

Manifestation in the memory of victims of political terror

Astrakhan

30/10/2017

Article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 5,000

Astrakhan Regional Court

01/06/2018

3,500

56845/19

23/10/2019

Andrey Aleksandrovich MARKOV

1965Memorial Human Rights Centre

Moscow

Manifestation against construction projects

Moscow

18/11/2018

Article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Moscow City Court

24/04/2019

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty, including unrecorded detention and detention without a judicial order and any other legal basis â€“ arrest and detention on 18/11/2018 for more than 3 hours for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence,

Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of tribunal - Lack of prosecuting authority in the administrative proceedings

4,000

65293/19

18/12/2019

Timur Varisovich URAZBAKHTIN

1985Memorial Human Rights Centre

Moscow

Manifestation for fair elections to Mosgorduma

Moscow

10/08/2019

Article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Moscow City Court

18/09/2019

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty, including unrecorded detention and detention without a judicial order and any other legal basis - arrest and detention on 10/08/2019 for more than 3 hours for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence,

Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of tribunal - absence of prosecuting party in the proceedings

4,000

202/20

18/12/2019

Roman Fedorovich GOLOVACH

1987Memorial Human Rights Centre

Moscow

Manifestation for fair elections to Mosgorduma

Moscow

10/08/2019

Article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 15,000

Moscow City Court

04/10/2019

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty, including unrecorded detention and detention without a judicial order and any other legal basis - arrest and detention on 10/08/2019 for more than 3 hours for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence,

Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of tribunal - absence of a prosecuting party in the administrative proceedings

4,000

1070/20

19/12/2019

Nikolay Sergeyevich KOVALEV

1987Pomazuyev Aleksandr Yevgenyevich

Vilnius

Manifestation for fair elections to Mosgorduma

Moscow

27/07/2019

Article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 12,000

Moscow City Court

12/09/2019

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty, including unrecorded detention and detention without a judicial order and any other legal basis - arrest and detention on 27/07/2019 for more than 3 hours for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence,

Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of tribunal - absence of prosecuting party in the proceedings

4,000

5995/20

17/01/2020

Vadim Aleksandrovich SOKURENKO

1973Memorial Human Rights Centre

Moscow

Manifestation against construction works

Moscow

18/11/2018

Article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Moscow City Court

18/07/2019

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty, including unrecorded detention and detention without a judicial order and any other legal basis - arrest and detention on 18/11/2018 for more than 3 hours for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence,

Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of tribunal - absence of a prosecuting party in the administrative proceedings

4,000

9451/20

12/02/2020

Oleg Dmitriyevich GARANIN

1998Memorial Human Rights Centre

Moscow

Manifestation for fair elections to Mosgorduma

Moscow

10/08/2019

Article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 20,000

Moscow City Court

02/10/2019

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty, including unrecorded detention and detention without a judicial order and any other legal basis - arrest and detention on 10/08/2019 for more than 3 hours for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence,

Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of tribunal - absence of a prosecuting party in the administrative proceedings

4,000

10952/20

07/02/2020

Aleksandr Borisovich MATVEYEV

1986Memorial Human Rights Centre

Moscow

Manifestation for fair elections

St Petersburg

10/08/2019

Article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

20 hours of community service

St Petersburg City Court

26/09/2019

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty, including unrecorded detention and detention without a judicial order and any other legal basis â€“ arrest and detention on 10/08/2019 for more than 3 hours for the purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence,

Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of tribunal - absence of a prosecuting party in the administrative proceedings

4,000

11433/20

07/02/2020

Doniyer Bakhtiyerovich GAIBOV

1998Memorial Human Rights Centre

Moscow

Manifestation for fair elections to Mosgorduma

Moscow

10/08/2019

Article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Moscow City Court

02/10/2019

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty, including unrecorded detention and detention without a judicial order and any other legal basis - arrest and detention on 10-11 August 2019 for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence,

Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of tribunal - absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings

4,000

13352/20

03/03/2020

Larisa Yegorovna POPOVICH

1947Memorial Human Rights Centre

Moscow

Manifestation against the housing renovation program

Moscow

27/05/2019

Article 19.3 Â§ 1 of CAO

fine of RUB 1,000

Moscow City Court

06/09/2019

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty, including unrecorded detention and detention without a judicial order and any other legal basis - unlawful (unjustified) arrest on 27/05/2019,

Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of tribunal - absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings

4,000

13362/20

03/03/2020

Liliya Vladimirovna MARYENKO

1984Memorial Human Rights Centre

Moscow

Manifestation against the housing renovation program

Moscow

27/05/2019

Article 19.3 Â§ 1 of CAO

fine of RUB 1,000

Moscow City Court

10/09/2019

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty, including unrecorded detention and detention without a judicial order and any other legal basis - unlawful (unjustified) arrest on 27/05/2019,

Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of tribunal - absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings

4,000

14018/20

28/02/2020

Viktor Mikhaylovich KAPITONOV

1999Yatsenko Irina Aleksandrovna

Moscow

Political manifestation

Moscow

13/05/2019

Article 20.2 Â§ 8 of CAO

fine of RUB 150,000

Moscow City Court

28/08/2019

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty, including unrecorded detention and detention without a judicial order and any other legal basis - unlawful (unjustified) arrest and detention on 13-15 May 2019,

Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of tribunal - absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings

4,000

14294/20

27/02/2020

Stepan Rudolfovich YESAYAN

1999Memorial Human Rights Centre

Moscow

Manifestation in support of Ivan Golunov

Moscow

12/06/2019

Article 20.2 Â§ 6.1 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Moscow City Court

26/08/2019

(the applicant received a copy of the judgment on 27/08/2019)

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty, including unrecorded detention and detention without a judicial order and any other legal basis - arrest and detention on 12/06/2019 for the purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence; detention in excess of 3 hours,

Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings

4,000

14492/20

29/02/2020

Kirill Konstantinovich KOTOV

1987Yatsenko Irina Aleksandrovna

Moscow

Manifestation to support participants of "NET"

Moscow

13/05/2019

Article 20.2 Â§ 8 of CAO

5 days of administrative detention

Moscow City Court

30/08/2019

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty, including unrecorded detention and detention without a judicial order and any other legal basis - arrest and detention on 13/05/2019 in excess of 3 hours for the sole purpose of drawing a record of administrative offence,

Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of tribunal - absence of a prosecuting party in the administrative proceedings

5,000

15090/20

12/03/2020

Vadim Nikolayevich PANKRATOV

1956Kachanov Roman Yevgenyevich

Yekaterinburg

Manifestation against construction of a church

Yekaterinburg

14/05/2019

Article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

fine of 10,000 RUB

Sverdlovsk Regional Court

24/09/2019

3,500

15220/20

10/03/2020

Artur Valeryevich KHASIYEV

1993Kachanov Roman Yevgenyevich

Yekaterinburg

Manifestation against construction of a church

Yekaterinburg

04/06/2019

Article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Sverdlovsk Regional Court

11/09/2019

3,500

15308/20

29/02/2020

Vladimir Sergeyevich PERVOVSKIY

1983Peredruk Aleksandr Dmitriyevich

St Petersburg

Political manifestation

St Petersburg

29/06/2019

Article 20.2 Â§ 1 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

St Petersburg City Court

10/10/2019

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty, including unrecorded detention and detention without a judicial order and any other legal basis - arrest and detention on 29/06-30/06/2019 in excess of 3 hours for the sole purpose of drawing a record of administrative offence,

Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of tribunal - absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings

4,000

18242/20

19/03/2020

Yekaterina Gennadiyevna SILAYEVA

1978Memorial Human Rights Centre

Moscow

Manifestation for fair elections to Mosgorduma

Moscow

14/07/2019

Article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 15,000

Moscow City Court

16/09/2019

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty, including unrecorded detention and detention without a judicial order and any other legal basis - arrest and detention on 14/07/2019 for more than 3 hours for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence,

Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of tribunal - absence of a prosecuting party in the administrative proceedings

4,000

[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.

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CASE OF RAZUMOV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA

CASE OF RAZUMOV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA

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