European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) upheld the claim of the opposition Alexei Navalny and Ilya Yashin, who complained about the unlawful detention during the street action December 5, 2011 each awarded compensation for moral damages of 26 000 euros.

The Court concluded that the detention of the applicants and their detention was disproportionate to the alleged violation: march, though not authorized, was of a peaceful nature, and "the small number of participants allows the police to easily monitor and keep it within." The ECtHR also found a violation of the right to a fair trial because the courts based their decisions solely testimony of police officers, refusing to investigate the videos to hear defense witnesses and disregarding the question of the legality of the police requirements. The court also qualified as torture chamber conditions in detention Police Department, "China Town" - with a concrete floor, no windows, no bathroom, no furniture, except for a bench width of 47 cm.

This is the second complaint, considered the ECHR by the statements of participants mItinga December 5, 2011 g .: earlier court issued a similar decision on the complaint of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, also awarding him compensation of 26,000 euros. Experts point to the ECHR unconventionally high payout. For example, members of the banned National Bolshevik Party, a year in custody received 5000-6000 euros, and Nemtsov and Navalny for 15 days of arrest - a few times more, emphasizes the lawyer Dmitry Agranovsky. This complaint was examined very quickly: it indicates the involvement of the court, which it perceives these people as the true opposition, convinced the lawyer.

For comparison, in October last year, the ECHR sentenced opposition leader and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov EUR 10 000, acknowledging his illegal detention at the "March of Dissent" in Moscow in April 2007. However, while Kasparov was only fined 1,000 rubles.

The significant size of the award may be explained by the fact that the Court found a violation of several provisions of the Convention on Human Rights, said the lawyer Olga Mikhailova, representing the bulk to the ECHR. given reactiontion could also cause particularly odious process style which in both cases led magistrate Olga Borovkov, does not preclude a lawyer.

The head of Russia authorized device to the ECHR Andrei Fyodorov said that the Ministry of Justice will carefully examine this decision, the concerned agencies will receive feedback and make a decision about the possibility of appealing against it.