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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 Navalna from the detention center,” he told the Interfax news agency.
The lawyer emphasized that such a decision “was taken by the ECHR for the first time and must be implemented by the Russian authorities.”
The court ruling, a copy of which is published on the A. Navalnas blog, says that the court decision will take effect immediately.
VIDEO: 15/15: Navalnas behind bars, what’s next?
This decision was made by the ECHR “after reviewing the circumstances and the possibility of a threat to the life of the applicant” in light of the “general circumstances of the applicant’s arrest”.
The court indicated that protective 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 2014 in a robbery case.
Previously, A. Navaln and his lawyers expressed the opinion that this decision of the Moscow court is illegal and will 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 “Novičiok” after a poisoning last summer, of which he accuses the Kremlin and the Federal Service of Security (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.
Then, Navaln’s team postponed the 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. The members of the council are obliged to comply with the resolutions of the ECHR, although in practice they may not be implemented.
According to the court, Russia argued in court that A. Navaln is detained in a duly guarded institution and that his camera has a video surveillance camera.
However, on January 20, Navaln, who filed a complaint, said that “the instruments listed by the government cannot guarantee his life and safety,” the court said.
Russia’s Justice Ministry said Tuesday that the ECHR ruling could be “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 enforced” from the point of view of international law.
Constitutional amendments adopted in Russia last year allow 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 in the ECHR’s request to release A. Navalnas that he was looking at the political rather than legal implications.
“The demands of the ECHR for the immediate release of Navalns, as reported by his lawyer, are on a political level rather than legal,” Sluckis told reporters on Wednesday.
He stressed that “Russia’s opponents are increasingly using the European Court of Human Rights as a tool for pressure and politicization, in this case interference in 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 norms of internal regulations, and not on the European Convention on Human Rights,” Sluckis said.
However, Navaln’s allies called on Russia to continue to enforce the court rulings.
“Russia always follows those decisions and now it will implement them,” wrote Ivan Zhdanov, a partner at A. Navaln, who has legal education, on the social network “Telegram”.
Leonid Volkov, head of the Navalno 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 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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