Russian Supreme Court declares detention of two Bolotnaya case defendants illegal

© RIA Novosti, Vladimir Fedorenko

11:46 05/10/2016

MOSCOW, October 5 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko) – Presidium of the Russian Supreme Court has ruled arrest and detention of Ilya Gushchin and Artyom Savelov, two defendants in the Bolotnaya riots case, illegal upon a decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), RAPSI learned in the courtroom on Wednesday.

Gushchin and Savelov can now seek compensation for material and moral damage caused by unjustified pretrial detention.

In June, Presidium the Supreme Court overturned several court rulings over detention of activist Leonid Kovyazin. According to lawyer Dmitry Agranovsky, the Supreme Court revoked rulings on extension of Kovyazin’s detention and corresponding appellate decisions for the period of November 6, 2011 through December 19, 2013.

In September 2015, the ECHR ordered Russia to pay a total of 7,000 euros to Savelov, Kovyazin, and Gushchin, three opposition activists who complained of their detention over mass protests in 2012 in central Moscow. The Court held that the activists’ right to fair trial had been violated. That was the first ECHR ruling in the Bolotnaya Square riots case.

Russian court has sentenced Savylov and Gushchin to 2.5 years in penal colony; both men have already served their terms while Kovyazin has been pardoned.

Over 400 people were arrested and scores injured in the Bolotnaya Square protest that turned violent in May 2012. Dozens were later charged with inciting mass riots and using violence against law enforcement officers.

The riot organizers, Sergei Udaltsov and Leonid Razvozzhayev, were sentenced to 4.5 years in prison. Other participants received prison terms from suspended sentences to four years. Several defendants were pardoned; one is undergoing compulsory mental treatment.