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European Court of Human Rights
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> European Court of Human Rights >> SHKOLA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA - 45640/21 (Article 11 - Freedom of assembly and association : Third Section Committee) [2024] ECHR 687 (18 July 2024)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/ECHR/2024/687.html
Cite as: [2024] ECHR 687
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THIRD SECTION
CASE OF SHKOLA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA
(Applications nos. 45640/21 and 18 others -
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
18 July 2024
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Shkola and Others v. Russia,
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Ioannis Ktistakis, President,
Oddný Mjöll Arnardóttir,
Diana Kovatcheva, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 27 June 2024,
Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date:
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. They also raised other complaints under the provisions of the Convention.
THE LAW
- 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.
- 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).
- 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, 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.
- 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 the 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 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 Martynyuk v. Russia, no. 13764/15, §§ 38-42, 8 October 2019, relating to the lack of suspensive effect of an appeal against the sentence of administrative detention.
- REMAINING COMPLAINTS
14. In view of the above findings, the Court considers that there is no need to deal separately with the remaining complaints under Article 6 of the Convention lodged by some of the applicants and concerning the fairness of the proceedings and the alleged restrictions on the right to examine witnesses.
- APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION
15. 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,
- Decides to join the applications;
- Holds that it has jurisdiction to deal with these applications as they relate to the facts that took place before 16 September 2022;
- Declares the complaints under Article 11 of the Convention and the other complaints under the well-established case-law of the Court, as set out in the appended table, admissible, and finds that there is no need to examine separately the remaining complaints under Article 6 of the Convention concerning the fairness of the proceedings and the alleged restrictions on the right to examine witnesses;
- Holds that these applications disclose a breach of Article 11 of the Convention;
- Holds that there has been a violation of the Convention and the Protocols thereto as regards the other complaints raised under the well-established case-law of the Court (see the appended table);
- 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 18 July 2024, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Viktoriya Maradudina Ioannis Ktistakis
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)
Application no. Date of introduction | Applicant's name Year of birth | Representative's name and location | Name of the public event Location Date | Administrative / criminal offence | Penalty | Final domestic decision Court Name Date | Other complaints under well-established case-law | Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage, costs and expenses per applicant (in euros)[1] | |
24/08/2021 | Aleksey Valeryevich SHKOLA 1993 | Bushmakov Aleksey Vladimirovich Yekaterinburg | Rally "Free Navalnyy"
Yekaterinburg
23/01/2021 | article 20.2 § 5 of CAO | 30 hours' community work | Sverdlovsk Regional Court 10/03/2021 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest and detention 23/01/2021 - Applicant taken to the police station as an administrative suspect: no evidence/assessment that it was impracticable, on the spot, to compile the offence record (Art. 27.2 § 1 CAO) and achieve the objectives set out in Art. 27.1 CAO, e.g. to establish the suspect's identity; the complaint was raised on appeal in the administrative proceedings,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings | 4,000 | |
17/08/2021 | Nikolay Nikolayevich MIROSHNICHENKO 1977 | Zboroshenko Nikolay Sergeyevich Mytishchi | Rally "Free Navalnyy"
Moscow
23/01/2021 | article 20.2 § 5 of CAO | fine of RUB 10,000 | Moscow City Court 16/04/2021 | 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 detention - Arrest and detention on 23/01/2021 - Applicant taken to the police station as an administrative suspect: no evidence/assessment that it was impracticable, on the spot, to compile the offence record (Art. 27.2 § 1 CAO) and achieve the objectives set out in Art. 27.1 CAO, e.g. to establish the suspect's identity; the complaint was raised on appeal in the administrative proceedings | 4,000 | |
26/08/2021 | Roman Sergeyevich MIRONOV 1996 | Zboroshenko Nikolay Sergeyevich Mytishchi | Rally "Free Navalnyy"
Moscow
02/02/2021 | article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO | 5 days' administrative arrest | Moscow City Court 11/05/2021 | 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 detention - Arrest and detention on 02/02/2021 - Applicant taken to the police station as an administrative suspect: no evidence/assessment that it was impracticable, on the spot, to compile the offence record (Art. 27.2 § 1 CAO) and achieve the objectives set out in Art. 27.1 CAO, e.g. to establish the suspect's identity; the complaint was raised on appeal in the administrative proceedings | 5,000 | |
22/10/2021 | Igor Sergeyevich BORISOV 1994 | Abgadzhava Leonid Alkhasovich Moscow | Rally "Free Navalnyy"
Moscow
31/01/2021 | article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO | fine of RUB 15,000 | Moscow City Court 22/04/2021 | Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings | 3,500 | |
20/10/2021 | Stanislav Timofeyevich KANEV 1988 | Lipatova Yelena Vladimirovna Moscow | Opposition rally
Moscow
31/01/2021 | article 20.2 § 5 of CAO | fine of RUB 20,000 | Moscow City Court 20/04/2021 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - Arrest and detention on 31/01/2021 - Applicant taken to the police station as an administrative suspect: no evidence/assessment that it was impracticable, on the spot, to compile the offence record (Art. 27.2 § 1 CAO) and achieve the objectives set out in Art. 27.1 CAO, e.g. to establish the suspect's identity; the complaint was raised on appeal in the administrative proceedings,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
| 4,000 | |
15/10/2021 | Kirill Viktorovich PETROV 1992 | Valiulin Sergey Aleksandrovich Vladivostok | Rally "Free Navalnyy"
Vladivostok
23/01/2021 | article 20.2 § 5 of CAO | fine of RUB 10,000 | Primorye Regional Court 20/04/2021 | Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings | 3,500 | |
15/11/2021 | Petr Aleksandrovich SAVELYEV 1995 | Memorial Human Rights Centre Moscow | Rally "Free Navalnyy"
Moscow
02/02/2021 | article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO | fine of RUB 10,000 | Moscow City Court 17/06/2021 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - Arrest and detention on 02/02/2021 - Applicant taken to the police station as an administrative suspect: no evidence/assessment that it was impracticable, on the spot, to compile the offence record (Art. 27.2 § 1 CAO) and achieve the objectives set out in Art. 27.1 CAO, e.g. to establish the suspect's identity; the complaint was examined by the appeal court | 4,000 | |
15/11/2021 | Anatoliy Sergeyevich SAVELYEV 1985 | Memorial Human Rights Centre Moscow | Rally "Free Navalnyy"
Moscow
02/02/2021 | article 20.2 § 5 of CAO | fine of RUB 10,000 | Moscow City Court 17/05/2021 | Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings | 3,500 | |
11/11/2021 | Anna Vasilyevna TIKHONOVA 1989 | Memorial Human Rights Centre Moscow | Rally "Free Navalnyy"
Moscow
02/02/2021 | article 20.2 § 5 of CAO | fine of RUB 10,000 | Moscow City Court 13/05/2022 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - Arrest and detention from 12.40 p.m. till 7 p.m. on 02/02/2021 - Applicant taken to the police station as an administrative suspect: no evidence/assessment that it was impracticable, on the spot, to compile the offence record (Art. 27.2 § 1 CAO) and achieve the objectives set out in Art. 27.1 CAO, e.g. to establish the suspect's identity; Detention as an administrative suspect: beyond the three-hour statutory period (Art. 27.5(1)-(4) CAO); the complaints were raised on appeal in the administrative proceedings,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings | 4,000 | |
26/10/2021 | Anastasiya Aleksandrovna PRYAZHKINA 1995 | Memorial Human Rights Centre Moscow | Rally "Free Navalnyy"
Smolensk
21/04/2021 | article 20.2 § 2 of CAO | 5 days' administrative arrest | Smolensk Regional Court 09/06/2021 | Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings,
Prot. 7 Art. 2 - delayed review of conviction by a higher tribunal - the sentence of administrative detention imposed on the applicant was executed immediately, on account of the lack of a suspensive effect of an appeal under the CAO | 5,000 | |
21/11/2021 | Varvara Vasilyevna VOLOVIK 2002 | Bayeva Aleksandra Nikolayevna Moscow | Rally "Free Navalnyy"
Moscow
02/02/2021 | article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO | fine of RUB 15,000 | Moscow City Court 21/05/2021 | 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 detention - Arrest and detention on 02/02/2021 - Applicant taken to the police station as an administrative suspect: no evidence/assessment that it was impracticable, on the spot, to compile the offence record (Art. 27.2 § 1 CAO) and achieve the objectives set out in Art. 27.1 CAO, e.g. to establish the suspect's identity; the complaint was raised on appeal in the administrative proceedings | 4,000 | |
23/12/2021 | Aleksandr Georgiyevich BABINKOV 1955 | Usanova Olimpiada Valentinovna Nizhniy Novgorod | Rally "Free Navalnyy"
Nizhniy Novgorod
31/01/2021 | article 20.2 § 5 of CAO | fine of RUB 5,000 | Nizhniy Novgorod Regional Court 23/06/2021 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - Arrest and detention on 31/01/2021 - Applicant taken to the police station as an administrative suspect: no evidence/assessment that it was impracticable, on the spot, to compile the offence record (Art. 27.2 § 1 CAO) and achieve the objectives set out in Art. 27.1 CAO, e.g. to establish the suspect's identity; the complaint was raised on appeal in the administrative proceedings | 4,000 | |
23/12/2021 | Stanislav Aleksandrovich VLASOV 1974 | Usanova Olimpiada Valentinovna Nizhniy Novgorod | Rally "Free Navalnyy"
Nizhniy Novgorod
31/01/2021 | article 20.2 § 5 of CAO | fine of RUB 10,000 | Nizhniy Novgorod Regional Court 23/06/2021 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - Arrest and detention at the police station after compiling an offence report from 1p.m. to 6.30 p.m. on 31/01/2021 - Applicant taken to the police station as an administrative suspect: no evidence/assessment that it was impracticable, on the spot, to compile the offence record (Art. 27.2 § 1 CAO) and achieve the objectives set out in Art. 27.1 CAO, e.g. to establish the suspect's identity; Detention as an administrative suspect: beyond the three-hour statutory period (Art. 27.5(1)-(4) CAO); the complaints were raised on appeal in the administrative proceedings,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings | 4,000 | |
31/08/2022 | Kseniya Vladimirovna FINAYEVA 1992 |
| Anti-war protest
St Petersburg
06/03/2022 | article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO | 12 days' administrative arrest | St Petersburg City Court 12/05/2022 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - Arrest and detention from 2.30 p.m. on 06/03/2022 to 07/03/2022 - Applicant taken to the police station as an administrative suspect: no evidence/assessment that it was impracticable, on the spot, to compile the offence record (Art. 27.2 § 1 CAO) and achieve the objectives set out in Art. 27.1 CAO, e.g. to establish the suspect's identity; Detention as an administrative suspect: the applicant remained in detention after the offence record had been compiled; the complaints were raised on appeal in the administrative proceedings,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings,
Prot. 7 Art. 2 - delayed review of conviction by a higher tribunal - the sentence of administrative detention imposed on the applicant was executed immediately, on account of the lack of a suspensive effect of an appeal under the CAO | 5,000 | |
05/09/2022 | Aleksandra Dmitriyevna BELOSHUMOVA
|
| Anti-war protest
Moscow
06/03/2022 | article 20.2 § 5 of CAO | fine of RUB 20,000 | Moscow City Court 19/05/2022 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - Arrest and detention on 06/03/2022 - Applicant taken to the police station as an administrative suspect: no evidence/assessment that it was impracticable, on the spot, to compile the offence record (Art. 27.2 § 1 CAO) and achieve the objectives set out in Art. 27.1 CAO, e.g. to establish the suspect's identity; raised on appeal in the administrative proceedings,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings | 4,000 | |
17/08/2022 | Irina Vladimirovna VOLLE 1971 | Lipatova Yelena Vladimirovna Moscow | Anti-war protest
St Petersburg
06/03/2022 | article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO | fine of RUB 15,000 | St Petersburg City Court 21/04/2022 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - Arrest and detention from 4.30 p.m. on 06/03/2022 till 1 p.m. on 07/03/2022 - Applicant taken to the police station as an administrative suspect: no evidence/assessment that it was impracticable, on the spot, to compile the offence record (Art. 27.2 § 1 CAO) and achieve the objectives set out in Art. 27.1 CAO, e.g. to establish the suspect's identity; Detention as an administrative suspect: the applicant remained in detention after the offence record had been compiled; the complaints were raised on appeal in the administrative proceedings,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings | 4,000 | |
15/09/2022 | Mariya Pavlovna RUDAKOVA 1967 |
| Anti-war protest
Moscow
13/03/2022 | article 20.2 § 5 of CAO | fine of RUB 10,000 | Moscow City Court 17/06/2022 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - Arrest and detention from 3.25 p.m. till 11 p.m. on 13/03/2022 - Applicant taken to the police station as an administrative suspect: no evidence/assessment that it was impracticable, on the spot, to compile the offence record (Art. 27.2 § 1 CAO) and achieve the objectives set out in Art. 27.1 CAO, e.g. to establish the suspect's identity; Detention as an administrative suspect: beyond the three-hour statutory period (Art. 27.5(1)-(4) CAO); the complaints were raised on appeal in the administrative proceedings,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings | 4,000 | |
12/09/2022 | Konstantin Aleksandrovich SLIVNITSYN 2002 | Baranova Natalya Andreyevna Moscow | Anti-war protest
Yekaterinburg
06/03/2022 | article 20.2 § 5 of CAO | 39 hours of community work | Sverdlovsk Regional Court 15/06/2022 | Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings | 3,500 | |
17/10/2022 | Semen Arkadyevich NAKROKHIN 1996 |
| Boris Nemtsov memorial march
Moscow
27/02/2022 | article 20.2 § 5 of CAO | fine of RUB 15,000 | Moscow City Court 21/06/2022 | Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - Arrest and detention on 17/02/2022 - Applicant taken to the police station as an administrative suspect: no evidence/assessment that it was impracticable, on the spot, to compile the offence record (Art. 27.2 § 1 CAO) and achieve the objectives set out in Art. 27.1 CAO, e.g. to establish the suspect's identity; the complaint was raised on appeal in the administrative proceedings,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings | 4,000 |
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.