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European Court of Human Rights


You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> European Court of Human Rights >> NEBIYERIDZE AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA - 41505/17 (Judgment : Article 11 - Freedom of assembly and association : Fourth Section Committee) [2023] ECHR 445 (01 June 2023)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2023/445.html
Cite as: CE:ECHR:2023:0601JUD004150517, ECLI:CE:ECHR:2023:0601JUD004150517, [2023] ECHR 445

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FOURTH SECTION

CASE OF NEBIYERIDZE AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA

(Applications nos. 41505/17 and 30 others –

see appended list)

 

 

 

 

JUDGMENT

 

STRASBOURG

1 June 2023

 

 

 

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

 


In the case of Nebiyeridze and Others v. Russia,


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

          Faris Vehabović, President,
          Armen Harutyunyan,
          Anja Seibert-Fohr, judges,

and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,


Having deliberated in private on 11 May 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 (“the Convention”) on the various dates indicated in the appended table.


2.  The Russian Government (“the Government”) 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 country-wide protests against corruption organised by Aleksey Navalnyy on 26 March 2017 (see Navalnyy and Others v. Russia [Committee], nos. 25809/17 and 14 others, § 2, 4 October 2022). Some applicants also raised other complaints under the provisions of the Convention and the Protocols thereto.

THE LAW

I.        JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS


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

II.     JURISDICTION


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, §§ 68‑73, 17 January 2023).

III.   ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 11 OF THE CONVENTION


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 Kudrevičius 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‑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 applicants’ freedom of assembly were not “necessary in a democratic society”.


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

IV.  OTHER ALLEGED VIOLATIONS UNDER WELL-ESTABLISHED CASE-LAW


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 § 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, §§ 63-65, 13 February 2018, Tsvetkova and Others v. Russia, nos. 54381/08 and 5 others, §§ 115-31, 10 April 2018, and Korneyeva v. Russia, no. 72051/17, §§ 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, §§ 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, §§ 38-42, 8 October 2019, relating to the lack of suspensive effect on an appeal against the sentence of detention.

V.     REMAINING COMPLAINTS


14.  Some applicants also raised other further additional complaints under Article 6 of the Convention concerning other aspects of fairness of the administrative-offence proceedings. In view of the findings in paragraphs 11 and 13 above, the Court considers that there is no need to deal separately with these remaining complaints.


15.  The Court has further examined the rest of the complaints raised by the applicants and considers that, in the light of all the material in its possession and in so far as the matters complained of are within its competence, these complaints either do not meet the admissibility criteria set out in Articles 34 and 35 of the Convention or do not disclose any appearance of a violation of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Convention. It follows that this part of the applications must be rejected in accordance with Article 35 § 4 of the Convention.

VI.  APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION


16.  Regard being had to the documents in its possession and to its case‑law (see, in particular, Navalnyy and Others, cited above, § 22), the Court finds it reasonable to award the sums indicated in the appended table.

FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT, UNANIMOUSLY,

1.      Decides to join the applications;

2.      Holds that it has jurisdiction to deal with the applicants’ complaints as they relate to facts that took place before 16 September 2022;

3.      Declares the complaints under Article 11 of the Convention and the other complaints under well-established case-law of the Court, as set out in the appended table, admissible, finds that there is no need to examine separately the remaining complaints under Article 6 of the Convention, and declares the remainder of the applications inadmissible;

4.      Holds that these applications disclose a breach of Article 11 of the Convention;

5.      Holds that there has been a violation of the Convention and the Protocols thereto as regards the other complaints raised under the well-established case-law of the Court (see appended table);

6.      Holds

(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 1 June 2023, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.

                       

      Viktoriya Maradudina                                             Faris Vehabović

    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

Applicant’s name

Year of birth

 

Representative’s name and location

Location

 of the public event

 

Administrative charges

Penalty

Final domestic decision

Court Name

Date

Other complaints under well-established case-law

Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses per applicant

(in euros) [1]

 

41505/17

11/05/2017

Vitaliy Otariyevich NEBIYERIDZE

1968

 

 

Sochi

 

 

Article 20.2 § 2 of CAO

detention for 8 days

Krasnodar Regional Court

31/03/2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

Prot. 7 Art. 2 - delayed review of conviction by a higher tribunal - the sentence of administrative detention imposed on the applicant by the court of first instance was executed immediately, on account of the lack of suspensive effect of an appeal under the CAO.

5,000

 

53791/17

17/07/2017

Stanislav Vladimirovich BABANOV

1992

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Volgograd

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Volgograd Regional Court

19/04/2017

 

3,500

 

79023/17

09/11/2017

Sergey Vladimirovich ANDREYEV

1978

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Almetyevsk

 

 

Article 20.2 § 2 of CAO

fine of RUB 20,000

Supreme Court of the Tatarstan Republic

02/08/2017

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

3,500

 

79374/17

02/11/2017

Ilya Vladimirovich KOROBKOV

1986

Gaynutdinov Damir Ravilevich

Sofia, Bulgaria

Ekaterinburg

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Sverdlovsk Regional Court

03/05/2017

 

3,500

 

607/18

07/12/2017

Mikhail Aleksandrovich IOSILEVICH

1976

Glukhov Aleksey Vladimirovich

Novocheboksarsk

Nizhniy Novgorod

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 15,000

Nizhniy Novgorod Regional Court

15/06/2017

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - escorting to the police station for compiling an offence report (arrested at 2 p.m., brought to the police station and released at 6 p.m. on 26/03/2017);

 

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

4,000

 

2564/18

07/12/2017

Boris Mikhaylovich ZOLOTAREVSKIY

1997

Sholokhov Igor Nikolayevich

Kazan

Chelyabinsk

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Chelyabinsk Regional Court

21/06/2017

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

3,500

 

2571/18

08/12/2017

Artem Sergeyevich AGANIN

1997

Glukhov Aleksey Vladimirovich

Novocheboksarsk

Nizhniy Novgorod

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Nizhniy Novgorod Regional Court

15/06/2017

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - escorting to the police station for compiling an offence report (arrested at 2.10 p.m., brought to the police station and released at 6 p.m. on 26/03/2017);

 

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

4,000

 

3683/18

08/01/2018

Yevgeniy Igorevich GERASIMOV

1984

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 15,000

Moscow City Court

18/07/2017

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

3,500

 

3685/18

08/01/2018

Pavel Nikolayevich FISENKO

1979

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Moscow City Court

14/07/2017

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

3,500

 

3687/18

08/01/2018

Emil Narimanovich ASANOV

1991

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 15,000

Moscow City Court

28/07/2017

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - detention at the police station in excess of three hours after the offence report was compiled (brought to the police station at 10.30 p.m. on 26/03/2017 and released at 3 a.m. on 27/03/2017);

 

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

4,000

 

3689/18

08/01/2018

Kirill Vitalyevich YAKOVENKO

1992

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 20,000

Moscow City Court

14/07/2017

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - detention at the police station in excess of three hours after the offence report was compiled (brought to the police station at 5 p.m. on 26/03/2017 and released at 3 a.m. on 27/03/2017);

 

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

4,000

 

3780/18

12/01/2018

Ivan Leonidovich VINNIKOV

1987

Memorial Human Rights Centre

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2

§ 6.1 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Moscow City Court

14/07/2017

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - detention at the police station in excess of three hours after the offence report was compiled (brought to the police station at 8.30 p.m. on 26/03/2017 and released at 4.45 a.m. on 27/03/2017);

 

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

4,000

 

4031/18

08/01/2018

Ilya Pavlovich KONSTANTINOV

1997

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 15,000

Moscow City Court

14/07/2017

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

3,500

 

4038/18

08/01/2018

Aleksandr Sergeyevich ZAKHAROV

1990

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 20,000

Moscow City Court

28/07/2017

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - detention at the police station in excess of three hours after the offence report was compiled (brought to the police station at 4 p.m. on 26/03/2017 and released at 1.25 a.m. on 27/03/2017);

 

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

4,000

 

4039/18

08/01/2018

Maksim Yevgenyevich DUNOV

1972

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 15,000

Moscow City Court

28/07/2017

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - detention at the police station in excess of three hours after the offence report was compiled (brought to the police station at 4 p.m. on 26/03/2017 and released at 2.15 a.m. on 27/03/2017);

 

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

4,000

 

4044/18

08/01/2018

Surazh Rustambayevich MATKURBANOV

1994

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Moscow City Court

20/07/2017

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

 

3,500

 

4055/18

08/01/2018

Yevgeniy Vitalyevich MAKEYEV

1970

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2

§ 6.1 of CAO

fine of RUB 15,000

Moscow City Court

12/07/2017

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

3,500

 

4065/18

08/01/2018

Aleksey Vasilyevich PRONIN

1973

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2

§ 6.1 of CAO

fine of RUB 20,000

Moscow City Court

24/07/2017

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

3,500

 

4845/18

17/01/2018

Yevgeniy Igorevich NOSENKO

1986

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Moscow City Court

14/08/2017

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

3,500

 

4848/18

17/01/2018

Mikhail Valeryevich TOKARSKIY

1975

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Khabarovsk

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 15,000

Khabarovsk Regional Court

26/07/2017

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - escorting to the police station for compiling an offence report (arrested at 2.30 p.m., brought to the police station and released after 5.p.m. on 26/03/2017);

 

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

4,000

 

4856/18

17/01/2018

Yaroslav Yakovlevich PAVLYUKOV

1993

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2

§ 6.1 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Moscow City Court

10/08/2017

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - detention at the police station in excess of three hours after the offence report was compiled (arrested at 3.30 p.m. and brought to the police station at 6 p.m. on 26/03/2017; released at 5.05 a.m. on 27/03/2017);

 

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

4,000

 

4888/18

17/01/2018

Kita Pavlovich MARTYANOV

1988

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 20,000

Moscow City Court

26/07/2017

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

3,500

 

5027/18

08/01/2018

Aleksandr Anatolyevich SHVETSKOV

1990

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 15,000

Moscow City Court

18/07/2017

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - detention at the police station in excess of three hours after the offence report was compiled (arrested at 3 p.m. and brought to the police station at 5.45 p.m. on 26/03/2017; released at 12.30 a.m. on 27/03/2017);

 

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

4,000

 

5062/18

08/01/2018

Viktor Aleksandrovich TARASOV

1998

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Moscow City Court

26/07/2017

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - detention at the police station in excess of three hours after the offence report was compiled (arrested at 4 p.m. and brought to the police station at 5 p.m. on 26/03/2017; released at 2.10 a.m. on 27/03/2017);

 

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

4,000

 

5205/18

17/01/2018

Eduard Urozoyevich GABBASOV

1975

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 20,000

Moscow City Court

08/08/2017

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

3,500

 

5213/18

17/01/2018

Vladislav Viktorovich PAVLOV

1977

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2

§ 6.1 of CAO

fine of RUB 15,000

Moscow City Court

26/07/2017

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

3,500

 

5234/18

17/01/2018

Aleksandr Stanislavovich POTASHEV

1990

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 15,000

Moscow City Court

18/07/2017

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

3,500

 

5275/18

17/01/2018

Pavel Igorevich MARKOV

1988

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Khabarovsk

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 10,000

Khabarovsk Regional Court

31/07/2017

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - escorting to the police station for compiling an offence report (arrested at 2.20 p.m., brought to the police station and released after 5.p.m. on 26/03/2017);

 

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

4,000

 

6451/18

18/01/2018

Farid Akhmadovich ZARIFI

1977

Preobrazhenskaya Oksana Vladimirovna

Strasbourg

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 20,000

Moscow City Court

18/07/2017

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

3,500

 

6575/18

26/01/2018

Andrey Olegovich PAVLOV

1995

Memorial Human Rights Centre

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 20,000

Moscow City Court

26/07/2017

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

3,500

 

26994/18

23/05/2018

Maksim Olegovich GULBIN

1978

Antokhin Yevgeniy Vyacheslavovich

Moscow

Moscow

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of RUB 18,000

Moscow City Court

28/11/2017

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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URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2023/445.html