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European Court of Human Rights


You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> European Court of Human Rights >> BARKHATOVA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA - 3628/18 (Judgment : Article 11 - Freedom of assembly and association : Fourth Section Committee) [2023] ECHR 448 (01 June 2023)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2023/448.html
Cite as: CE:ECHR:2023:0601JUD000362818, [2023] ECHR 448, ECLI:CE:ECHR:2023:0601JUD000362818

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FOURTH SECTION

CASE OF BARKHATOVA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA

(Applications nos. 3628/18 and 19 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 Barkhatova 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 public assemblies. Some applicants also raised other complaints under the provisions of the Convention.

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, having dismissed the Government’s objection of non-exhaustion in application no. 3628/18, and having taken into account the issue of compliance with the six-month time‑‑imit under Article 35 § 1 of the Convention (see Saakashvili v. Georgia (dec.), nos. 6232/20 and 22394/20, §§ 46-59, 1 March 2022, in which the Court addressed the COVID-related extension of the period in question), 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 and its Protocols, 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 Tsvetkova and Others, cited above, §§ 186-88, 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 raised further additional complaints under Articles 5 and 6 of the Convention concerning other aspects of their deprivation of liberty and fairness of the administrative-offence proceedings. In view of the findings in paragraphs 11-13 above, the Court considers that there is no need to deal separately with these remaining complaints.


15.  Lastly, the Court has examined the remainder of the complaints raised by the applicants in applications nos. 5157/18, 31838/18 and 12606/19 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 or the Protocols thereto. 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 v. Russia [Committee], nos. 25809/17 and 14 others, § 22, 4 October 2022), 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, decides that there is no need to examine separately the remaining complaints under Articles 5 and 6 of the Convention and declares the remainder of applications nos. 5157/18, 31838/18 and 12606/19 inadmissible;

4.      Holds that these complaints 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 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

Name of the public event

Location

Date

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]

 

3628/18

23/12/2017

Irina Alekseyevna BARKHATOVA

1986

Popkov Aleksandr Vasilyevich

Sochi

Anti-corruption manifestation

Sochi

12/06/2017

Article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO

fine of

RUB 20,000

Krasnodar Regional 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

 

3863/18

26/12/2017

 

and

 

24270/19

11/04/2019

Svetlana Anatolyevna UTKINA

1968

Andreyev Viktor Alekseyevich

St Petersburg

Opposition manifestation

St Petersburg

29/04/2017

 

Manifestation for fair elections to Mosgorduma

Moscow

27/07/2019

 

Political manifestation

St Petersburg

07/10/2018

 

Rally in support of Khabarovsk and Belarus protests

St Petersburg

15/08/2020

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

 

 

 

Article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO

 

 

Article 20.2 § 8 of CAO

fine of

RUB 10,000

 

 

35 hours’ compulsory work

 

 

5 days’ administrative arrest

 

10 days’ administrative detention

St Petersburg City Court

11/07/2017

 

Moscow City Court

22/08/2019

 

 

 

St Petersburg City Court

15/10/2018

 

St Petersburg City Court

18/02/2021

Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings - three of the above sets of proceedings, which ended with the final judgments of 15/10/2018, 22/08/2019 and 18/02/2021, respectively.

5,000

 

5157/18

08/01/2018

Yuliya Viktorovna MYSHEVA

1986

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Anti-corruption manifestation

Moscow

26/03/2017

 

Rally in support of A. Navalnyy

Moscow

31/01/2021

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

 

 

Article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO

fine of

RUB 10,000

 

 

fine of

RUB 15,000

Moscow City Court

24/07/2017

 

 

Moscow City Court

09/11/2021

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - arrest, escorting to a police station, detention (i) on 26/03/2017, and (ii) 31/01/2021, for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence on both occasions; delayed escorting to a police station on 31/01/2021;

 

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

4,000

 

7553/18

27/01/2018

 

and

 

12606/19

05/02/2019

Yelena Anatolyevna PARIY

1969

Tiunov Sergey Yuryevich

Yekaterinburg

"Stroll in Support of Opposition movement "Artpodgotovka""

Yekaterinburg

23/07/2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manifestation against the pension reform

Yekaterinburg

09/09/2018

Article 19.3 § 1 of CAO

 

and

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

 

 

 

Article 20.2 § 8 of CAO

9 days of administrative arrest

 

and

 

fine of

RUB 10,000

 

 

15 days of administrative detention

Sverdlovsk Regional Court

01/08/2017

 

and

 

Sverdlovsk Regional Court

14/11/2017

 

Sverdlovsk Regional Court

14/09/2018

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - arrest, escorting to a police station, detention between 09/09/2018 and 11/09/2018 as administrative suspect: no evidence/ assessment of any exceptional circumstances under the CAO;

 

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

 

6,000

 

13182/18

26/02/2018

Vasiliy Eduardovich LI

1999

Terekhov Konstantin Ilyich

Moscow

Anticorruption manifestation

Vladivostok

12/06/2017

Article 19.3 § 1 of CAO

fine of

RUB 500

Primorye Regional Court

30/08/2017

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - arrest, escorting to a police station, detention on 12/06/2017 for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence;

 

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

4,000

 

26103/18

10/05/2018

Andrey Vasilyevich ZHUZHGOV

1969

Benyash Mikhail Mikhaylovich

Sochi

Manifestation in support of

A. Navalnyy

Krasnodar

07/11/2017

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

35 hours of compulsory work

Krasnodar Regional Court

06/12/2017

 

3,500

 

31838/18

25/06/2018

Petr Valeryevich MASLOV

1988

Memorial Human Rights Centre

Moscow

Anti-corruption manifestation

Moscow

12/06/2017

 

Rally in support of A. Navalnyy

Moscow

31/01/2021

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

 

 

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of

RUB 10,000

 

 

fine of RUB 10,000

Moscow City Court

12/04/2018

 

 

Moscow City Court

17/05/2021

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention (i) on 12/06/2017, and (ii) on 31/01/2021, in each case for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence;

 

Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings - both sets of proceedings, final judgments issued on 12/04/2018 and 17/05/2021

4,000

 

55764/18

13/11/2018

Ilya Khaimovich MYASKOVSKIY

1971

 

 

Manifestation against the pension reform

Nizhniy Novgorod

09/09/2018

 

Rally in memory of Boris Nemtsov

Nizhniy Novgorod

25/02/2018

Article 20.2 § 8 of CAO

 

 

 

Article 20.2 § 8 of CAO

20 days’ administrative detention

 

 

20 days’ administrative detention

Nizhniy Novgorod Regional Court

14/11/2018

 

 

Nizhniy Novgorod Regional Court

16/05/2018

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - arrest, escorting to a police station, detention between 11/09/2018 and 12/09/2018 as administrative suspect;

 

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

 

Prot. 7 Art. 2 - delayed review of conviction by a higher tribunal - the sentence of administrative detention imposed on the applicant on 12/09/2018 was executed immediately, on account of the lack of suspensive effect of an appeal under the CAO

6,000

 

1523/19

14/12/2018

Sergey Aleksandrovich KAN

1986

Glukhov Aleksey Vladimirovich

Novocheboksarsk

Opposition manifestation

Cheboksary

05/05/2018

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of

RUB 20,000

Supreme Court of the Republic of Chuvashia

03/07/2018

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

3,500

 

22697/19

12/04/2019

Svetlana Valeryevna LOZOVSKAYA

1975

Sholokhov Igor Nikolayevich

Kazan

Manifestation against the pension reform

Ulan-Ude

09/09/2018

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of

RUB 10,000

Supreme Court of the Buryatia Republic

15/11/2018

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

3,500

 

29381/19

16/05/2019

 

and

 

27859/20

12/06/2020

Valeriya Ivanovna SKOROBOGATOVA

1970

 

 

29381/19

Yelanchik Oleg Aleksandrovich

Moscow

 

27859/20

Timakova Kristina Igorevna

Moscow

Opposition manifestation

Moscow

05/05/2018

 

 

Manifestation for fair elections to Mosgorduma

Moscow

27/07/2019

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

 

 

 

Article 20.2 § 8 of CAO

fine of

RUB 15,000

 

 

 

fine of

RUB 250,000

(not paid by the applicant)

 

Moscow City Court

16/11/2018

 

 

 

Moscow City Court

22/10/2019

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - arrest, escorting to a police station, detention (i) on 05/05/2018 for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence;

and (ii) 27/07/2019 and 29/07/2019 as administrative suspect: no evidence/ assessment of any "exceptional circumstances" under the CAO;

 

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

 

4,000

 

 

9711/20

30/01/2020

Nikita Igorevich PETROV

1990

Memorial Human Rights Centre

Moscow

Manifestation for fair elections to Mosgorduma

Moscow

27/07/2019

Article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO

fine of

RUB 10,000

Moscow City Court

12/11/2019

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

 

3,500

 

10236/20

12/02/2020

Nikolay Andreyevich LOGVIN

1993

Yatsenko Irina Aleksandrovna

Moscow

Manifestation in support of Ivan Golunov

Moscow

12/06/2019

Article 20.2 § 8 of CAO

fine of

RUB 150,000

 

Moscow City Court

12/08/2019

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - arrest, escorting to a police station, detention there on 12/06/2019 for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence;

 

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

4,000

 

 

10704/20

17/02/2020

Andrey Viktorovich OREL

1977

Memorial Human Rights Centre

Moscow

Manifestation for fair elections to Mosgorduma

Moscow

14/07/2019

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of

RUB 10,000

Moscow City Court

02/10/2019

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - arrest, escorting to a police station, detention on 14/07/2019 for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence;

 

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

4,000

 

14243/20

22/01/2020

Petr Nikolayevich ALESHIN

1965

Zboroshenko Nikolay Sergeyevich

Mytishchi

Manifestation for fair elections to Mosgorduma

Moscow

27/07/2019

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of

RUB 10,000

Moscow City Court

02/10/2019

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention on 27/07/2019 for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence;

 

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

4,000

 

25541/20

03/06/2020

Artemiy Sergeyevich BOBROV

1992

Pomazuyev Aleksandr Yevgenyevich

Vilnius

Manifestation for fair elections to Mosgorduma

Moscow

10/08/2019

Article 20.2 § 5 of CAO

fine of

RUB 15,000

Moscow City Court

02/10/2019

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

 

Art. 5 (1) - unlawful deprivation of liberty, including unrecorded detention and detention without a judicial order and any other legal basis - arrest and escorting on 10/08/2019 to the police office for the purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence; detention in excess of 3 hours (raised on appeal)

4,000

 

31415/20

30/06/2020

Daniil Konstantinovich LATYSHEV

1999

Yatsenko Irina Aleksandrovna

Moscow

Opposition manifestation for freedom of assembly

Moscow

30/01/2019

Article 20.2 § 8 of CAO

fine of

RUB 200,000

 

Moscow City Court

30/09/2019

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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