Lexploria

FIFTH SECTION

CASE OF IVANOV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA

(Applications nos. 54470/21 and 14 others â€“

see appended list)

JUDGMENT

STRASBOURG

22 February 2024

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

In the case of Ivanov and Others v. Russia,

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

MarÃa ElÃ³segui , President , Mattias Guyomar, KateÅ™ina Å imÃ¡ÄkovÃ¡ , judges ,

and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having deliberated in private on 1 February 2024,

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 their arrest in relation to the dispersal of these assemblies and their conviction for administrative offences. 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, 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 and its Protocols, 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.

13. Having examined all the material before it, the Court concludes that these complaints also disclose violations of the Convention and its Protocols in the light of its findings in Butkevich v. Russia , no. 5865/07, Â§Â§ 63-65, 13 February 2018, Tsvetkova and Others v. Russia , nos. 54381/08 and 5 others, Â§Â§ 115-31, 10 April 2018, and Korneyeva v. Russia , no. 72051/17, Â§Â§ 34-36, 8 October 2019, as to various aspects of unlawful deprivation of liberty of organisers or participants of public assemblies; Karelin v. Russia , no. 926/08, Â§Â§ 58-85, 20 September 2016, concerning the absence of a prosecuting party in the proceedings under the Code of Administrative Offences (the CAO); and Martynyuk v. Russia , no. 13764/15, Â§Â§ 38-42, 8 October 2019, relating to the lack of suspensive effect of an appeal against the sentence of administrative detention.

14. Some applicants raised further additional complaints under Article 6 of the Convention concerning other aspects of fairness of the administrative â€‘ offence proceedings. In view of the findings in the above paragraphs, the Court considers that there is no need to deal separately with these remaining complaints.

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 22 February 2024, pursuant to Rule 77 Â§Â§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.

Viktoriya Maradudina MarÃa ElÃ³segui 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 / criminal offence

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]

54470/21

14/10/2021

Artem Nikolayevich IVANOV

1990

Ivanova Tatyana Andreyevna

Irkutsk

Rally "Free Navalnyy"

Irkutsk

31/01/2021

article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Irkutsk Regional Court

25/05/2021

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to and detention at the police station after compiling an offence report from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m. on 31/01/2021;

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

4,000

56564/21

29/10/2021

Polina Andreyevna GREBENNIKOVA

2002

Polyakov Daniil Alekseyevich

Voronezh

Rally "Free Navalnyy"

Voronezh

31/01/2021

article 20.2 Â§ 2 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Voronezh Regional Court

30/04/2021

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

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to the police station on 31/01/2021 for compiling an offence report

4,000

59469/21

21/11/2021

Ivan Andreyevich MARTYANOV

2001

Kachanov Roman Yevgenyevich

Yekaterinburg

Rally "Free Navalnyy"

Yekaterinburg

31/01/2021

article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

20 hours of community service

Sverdlovsk Regional Court

25/05/2021

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to the police station on 31/01/2021 for compiling an offence report;

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

4,000

59525/21

18/11/2021

Mark Yevgenyevich NEPSHA

1994

Antokhin Yevgeniy Vyacheslavovich

Moscow

Rally "Free Navalnyy"

Moscow

31/01/2021

article 20.2 Â§ 6.1 of CAO

fine of RUB 15,000

Moscow City Court

25/05/2021

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to the police station on 31/01/2021 for compiling an offence report;

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

4,000

59535/21

18/11/2021

Yuriy Yuryevich NEZAMEDINOV

1989

Antokhin Yevgeniy Vyacheslavovich

Moscow

Rally "Free Navalnyy"

Moscow

31/01/2021

article 20.2 Â§ 6.1 of CAO

fine of RUB 20,000

Moscow City Court

25/05/2021

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to the police station on 31/01/2021 for compiling an offence report;

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

4,000

59538/21

18/11/2021

Viktor Ivanovich KOGAN

1956

Antokhin Yevgeniy Vyacheslavovich

Moscow

Rally "Free Navalnyy"

Moscow

02/02/2021

article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 15,000

Moscow City Court

21/05/2021

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to and detention at the police station after compiling an offence report from 12.30 p.m. until 9 p.m. on 02/02/2021;

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

4,000

977/22

03/12/2021

Sergey Aleksandrovich SIMIN

1984

Vlasov Aleksey Valeryevich

Tula

Rally "Free Navalnyy"

Tula

31/01/2021

article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 15,000

Tula Regional Court

17/05/2021 (the applicant received the full text of the final decision only on 03/06/2021)

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

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to the police station on 31/01/2021 for compiling an offence report

4,000

3020/22

22/12/2021

Yekaterina Aleksandrovna CHERNENKO

1993

Valenkov Andrey Olegovich

Nizhniy Novgorod

Rally "Free Navalnyy"

Nizhniy Novgorod

31/01/2021

article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Nizhniy Novgorod Regional Court

24/06/2021

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to and detention at the police station after compiling an offence report from 1.05 p.m. until 6.55 p.m. on 31/01/2021;

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

4,000

8022/22

22/01/2022

Mikhail Alekseyevich PERSHIN

2001

Prosvirkina Kseniya Dmitriyevna

Moscow

Manifestation in support of Navalnyy

Krasnoyarsk

31/01/2021

article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Krasnoyarsk Regional Court

22/07/2021

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

3,500

12279/22

24/02/2022

Sobirdzhon Berdiyevich VOKHIDOV

1987

Prosvirkina Kseniya Dmitriyevna

Moscow

Rally to support of Izat Amon

Moscow

02/04/2021

article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Moscow City Court

27/08/2021

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to the police station on 02/04/2021 for compiling an offence report;

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

4,000

13705/22

28/02/2022

Denis Valeryevich MATVEYEV

1992

Markin Konstantin Aleksandrovich

Velikiy Novgorod

Rally "Free Navalnyy"

Moscow

23/01/2021

article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

fine of 15,000 RUB

Moscow City Court

29/09/2021

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

3,500

34656/22

24/06/2022

Polina Dmitriyevna SHUBENTSEVA

2000

Ruchko Irina Yuryevna

Yekaterinburg

Anti-war protest (against the war in Ukraine)

Yekaterinburg

24/02/2022

article 20.2 Â§ 2 of CAO

detention for 10 days

Sverdlovsk Regional Court

02/03/2022

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to and detention at the police station after compiling an offence report from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. on 24/02/2022 ;

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

5,000

36475/22

12/07/2022

Igor Igorevich GURCHENOK

2001

Tyurina Kristina Olegovna

Nizhniy Novgorod

Manifestation against the war in Ukraine

Nizhniy Novgorod

06/03/2022

article 20.2 Â§ 8 of CAO

detention for 14 days

Nizhniy Novgorod Regional Court

17/03/2022

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

5,000

36545/22

10/02/2022

Sergey Leonidovich SERGEYEV

1967

Vlasov Aleksey Valeryevich

Tula

Rally against COVID vaccination

Tula

18/11/2021

article 20.2 Â§ 2 of CAO

fine of RUB 21,000

Tula Regional Court

23/12/2021

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to the police station on 18/11/2021 for compiling an offence report

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

4,000

51268/22

19/10/2022

Valentin Igorevich GUDKOV

2001

Tiunov Sergey Yuryevich

Yekaterinburg

Anti-war protest (against the war in Ukraine)

Yekaterinburg

06/03/2022

article 20.2 Â§ 5 of CAO

20 hours of community work

Sverdlovsk Regional Court

07/09/2022

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

3,500

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

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CASE OF IVANOV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA

CASE OF IVANOV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA

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