18:50, 10 July 2024

ECtHR treats detention of rights defender Svetlana Gannushkina* at picket as violation

A law enforcer talks to Svetlana Gannushkina* and Oleg Orlov* at a picket in defence of Oyub Titiev. Moscow, July 2018. Photo: Viktoriya Odissonova / "Novaya Gazeta" is included into the register of foreign agents

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has recognized the detention at a picket in defence of Oyub Titiev as a violation of the rights of the human rights defender Svetlana Gannushkina*. The Court has obliged Russian authorities to pay her compensation of EUR 4000.

The ECtHR has found that Russian authorities had violated Gannushkina*’s rights to personal integrity and court impartiality, the “Memorial” Centre for Human Rights Defence (CHRD)** has informed.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on July 9, 2018, Svetlana Gannushkina* and Oleg Orlov*, the then board chairman of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial"***, were detained in Moscow. They wanted to draw attention to the case of the human rights defender, Oyub Titiev, during the FIFA World Cup, but at that time there was a presidential decree in force prohibiting any public protests. Both rights defenders were fined. The ECtHR has stated that Russian authorities, by detaining Orlov*, violated the right to the freedom of peaceful assembly, personal integrity and court impartiality. Despite the fact that Russia had refused to enforce ECtHR’s decisions, they are important because they record the violations committed, the advocate has emphasized.

On March 18, 2019, the Shali City Court in Chechnya sentenced Oyub Titiev to four years in colony, having found him guilty of drug possession. The court ruling had sparked criticism from the European Union, PACE and human rights organizations around the world. Titiev and his defence claimed that the drugs had been planted on him.

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

**As reported on the website of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the reason for including on March 1, 2024, the unregistered "Memorial" Centre for Human Rights Defence (CHRD) into the roster of foreign agents was the spread of "inaccurate information aimed at creating a negative image of the Russian Federation, as well as the Russian Armed Forces."

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

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 9, 2024 at 04:35 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: Caucasian Knot