ECtHR recognizes fine for picketing as violation of Oleg Orlov*’s rights

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has found that by detaining human rights defender Oleg Orlov* at a picket in support of Oyub Titiev and fining him for his protest action, the Russian authorities violated the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and judicial impartiality. Despite the fact that Russia does not comply with the decisions of the ECtHR, the decisions are important because they record the violations committed, a lawyer emphasizes.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on March 20, 2019, the Moscow City Court upheld the decision of the Tverskoi District Court of Moscow to fine 10,000 roubles each of Svetlana Gannushkina*, the chair of the “Civic Assistance Committee”*, a regional public charitable organization for helping refugees and migrants, and Oleg Orlov*, the chair of the “Memorial”** Human Rights Centre (HRC) (recognized as a foreign agent).

“Every decision of an independent court is a record of violations, as well as support for victims and their defenders, whose voices the Russian authorities are diligently trying to drown out. Now when Oleg Orlov* is unjustly deprived of his freedom, it is especially important to continue to defend human rights in Russia,” lawyer Denis Shedov emphasized.

The lawyer has emphasized that within the framework of the project, about 3000 complaints on the right to freedom of assembly were filed to the ECtHR, and many of them have already been successfully considered by the ECtHR. “This project has helped thousands of Russian citizens gain experience in defending their rights ... Like many other human rights initiatives, Oleg Orlov* is also at the origins of this grandiose project,” the lawyer noted.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.

**On December 29, 2021, by the decision of the Moscow City Court, the Russian legal entities of the “International Memorial” and the “Memorial” Human Rights Centre (HRC) were liquidated. Activists of the organizations have reported that both organizations will continue their work without forming legal entities.