Nov. 15 (UPI) — Russian opposition leader Alexi Navalny was repeatedly arrested and detained for political reasons, violating his human rights, the European Court of Human Rights determined in a ruling Thursday.
The court upheld a previous decision that Navalny’s seven arrests and two instances of pretrial detentions by Russian authorities from 2012-14 violated his rights, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
In August, a Moscow court sentenced Navalny to 30 days in jail for an anti-government protest in January. The government opposition leader charged at the time that the punishment was meant to stop him from organizing a Sept. 9 protest against government plans to raise the age of retirement.
Before that, Navalny spent 30 days in Moscow prison in May for leading a protest earlier that month against President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration.
In Thursday’s ruling, the European’s Court’s Grand Chamber said it endorsed a February judgment by its regular chamber that determined Navalny’s earlier arrests violated his “rights under Article 5 owing to his seven arrests and two instances of pre-trial detention, and under Article 6 over six out of seven sets of court proceedings after the arrests.”
The court ruled that two of his arrests over that time “lacked a legitimate aim while the five others had not been necessary in a democratic society,” charging that the detainments were meant to suppress political pluralism.
The court ordered Russia to pay Navalny the equivalent of roughly $72,230, in damages and costs.
Navalny told reporters in Strasbourg, France, the ruling was “genuine justice” and “very important not just for me but for other people all over Russia who are arrested every day,” Radio Free Europe reported.
The Independent wrote that Navalny was initially prevented from leaving Russia for Europe on Tuesday and was forced to pay a court fine before he could depart. Authorities said Navalny’s travel ban was lifted the same day.
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