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“The European Court of Human Rights applied Rule 39 of the Rules of Court and ruled that the Russian government must immediately release Mr. Navalna from the detention center,” he told the Interfax news agency.
The lawyer emphasized that such a decision “was made by the ECHR for the first time and must be implemented by the Russian authorities.”
“That must be the case, it cannot be otherwise, since the European convention (on human rights) is part of Russian law,” the lawyer told AFP.
The court ruling, a copy of which is posted on A. Navaln’s blog, says the court ruling will take effect immediately.
This decision was made by the ECHR “after reviewing the circumstances and the possibility of a threat to the applicant’s life” in light of the “general circumstances of the applicant’s arrest”.
The court indicated that protection measures were taken “without prejudice to the merits of the case.”
In early February, A. Navalns was sentenced to nearly three years in prison for violating the conditions of the probation sentence imposed on him in the 2014 embezzlement case.
However, in 2017, the ECHR ruled that Navaln’s conviction in that case was “arbitrary” for violating his human rights, and awarded the activist and his imprisoned brother Oleg compensation from the Russian state.
Previously, Navaln and his lawyers expressed the opinion that this decision of the Moscow court was illegal and would seek its annulment.
Navaln was arrested on January 17 after arriving at a Moscow airport in Germany, where he was being treated for his nerve-paralyzing substance “Noviciok” after last summer’s poisoning, of which he accuses the Kremlin and the Federal Security Service. (FSB).
His arrest in many Russian cities sparked mass demonstrations on two consecutive weekends during which more than 10,000 were detained by security forces. people.
Navaln’s team postponed mass demonstrations until spring or summer, but urged their supporters to take advantage of Valentine’s Day to try new and safer forms of protest.
“Political subtext”
Russia is a member of the Council of Europe for Human Rights, to which the ECHR belongs. Council members must comply with the ECHR rulings, although in practice they may not be implemented.
According to the court, Russia argued in court that Navaln is being held in a properly guarded facility and has a video surveillance camera in her cell.
However, on January 20, the plaintiff, Mr. Navaln, said that “the instruments listed by the government cannot guarantee his life and safety,” the court said.
Russia’s Justice Ministry said on Tuesday that the ECHR ruling could constitute “unreasonable and serious interference” with the Russian judiciary, state news agency TASS reported.
The ministry’s press service stated that such a decision “cannot be carried out” from the point of view of international law.
Constitutional amendments adopted in Russia last year allow for non-implementation of international treaties if they conflict with basic Russian laws.
At the time, Leonidas Sluckis, chairman of the State Duma’s Committee on International Affairs, said he was considering the political rather than legal implications of the ECHR’s demand for his release.
“The demands of the ECHR for the immediate release of Mr. Navalna, as reported by his lawyer, are more political than legal,” Sluckis told reporters on Wednesday.
He stressed that “Russia’s opponents are increasingly using the European Court of Human Rights as a means of coercion and politicization, in this case interfering with the competence of the Russian judicial system.”
“And right now we are seeing biased steps that benefit a certain circle of people, moreover, as the experts explain, based on the rules of internal regulations, not on the European Convention on Human Rights,” Sluckis said.
However, Navaln’s allies called on Russia to continue to comply with court rulings.
“Russia always keeps those decisions and now it will implement them,” wrote Ivan Zhdanov, a partner at A. Navaln and a lawyer, on the social network Telegram.
Leonid Volkov, head of Navaln’s regional network, said the decision was “legally binding” on Russia under its obligations as a member of the Council of Europe.
According to him, failure to comply with the order could result in the expulsion of Russia from the Council and “many far-reaching consequences”, such as the termination of a chain of international agreements.
Navaln is also on trial for defaming a World War II veteran. Last year, in a video promoting the Kremlin-backed constitutional reforms, A. Navalnas called the veteran and others the shame and “traitors” of the country.
Prosecutors ask the court to assign 950,000 to A. Navalnas. rubles (10.6 thousand euros) fine.
Prosecutors have also called for the one and a half year suspended sentence imposed on the opposition in 2014 to be replaced by a royal custodial sentence, although another court has already made that decision.
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