THIRD SECTION
CASE OF ANTROPOV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA
(Applications nos. 1434/18 and 29 others –
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
25 April 2024
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Antropov and Others v. Russia,
The European Court of Human Rights (Third Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
Peeter Roosma, President, Ioannis Ktistakis, Andreas Zünd, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 4 April 2024,
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
5. Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.
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).
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. Some applicants also referred to Article 10 of the Convention. The Court will examine the complaints under 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.
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; 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.
14. Some applicants raised further additional complaints under Article 6 of the Convention concerning other aspects of fairness of the administrative‑offence proceedings. In view of the findings in paragraphs 11 and 13 above, the Court considers that there is no need to deal separately with these remaining complaints.
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,
(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 25 April 2024, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Viktoriya Maradudina Peeter Roosma 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
Other complaints under well-established case-law
Amount awarded for pecuniary and non‑pecuniary damage per applicant
(in euros)[1]
1434/18
06/12/2017
Andrey Mikhaylovich ANTROPOV
1981
Zhdanov Ivan Yuryevich
Vilnius
Anti-corruption rally
Nizhniy Tagil
26/03/2017
article 20.2 § 5 of CAO
fine of RUB 10,000
Sverdlovsk Regional Court
06/06/2017
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
3,500
10211/20
10/02/2020
Alena Aleksandrovna YURCHENKO
1996
Rally in support of I. Golunov
Moscow
12/06/2019
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
Moscow City Court
20/08/2019
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station, detention on 12/06/2021 for the sole purpose of drawing up an administrative-offence record (such record only drawn up on 18/06/2019)
4,000
28522/21
07/05/2021
Alsu Mansurovna AKHMETOVA
1989
Shagiyeva Regina Ilgizovna
Leninigorsk
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Naberezhnye Chelny
23/01/2021
Supreme Court of the Tatarstan Republic
03/03/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention on 23/01/2021 for the sole purpose of drawing a record of administrative offence (such record compiled on 27/01/2021)
28817/21
Yekaterina Vitalyevna SAKALAVICHYS
1988
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention on 23/01/2021 for the sole purpose of drawing a record of administrative offence
28821/21
Neonila Nikolayevna PAVSKAYA
1992
10/03/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention on 23/01/2021 for the sole purpose of drawing a record of administrative offence (such record compiled on 24/01/2021)
28822/21
Lyubov Sergeyevna TETERINA
1984
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention – arrest, escorting to a police station and detention on 23/01/2021 for the sole purpose of drawing a record of administrative offence
28823/21
Aydar Almazovich GABDULLIN
1987
28837/21
Yelena Igorevna KOVSHOVA
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention- arrest, escorting to a police station and detention on 23/01/2021 for the sole purpose of drawing a record of administrative offence
28839/21
Polina Ildarovna ABRAROVA
2001
31/01/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention between 31/01/2021 and 01/02/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after the offence record had been compiled
29793/21
22/05/2021
Yelizaveta STERLIGOVA
1997
Gilmanov Mansur Idrisovich
Podolsk
Event in support of LGBT community
07/10/2020
fine of RUB 13,000
18/02/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station, detention on 07/10/2020 for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence;
30174/21
18/05/2021
Vasiliy Alekseyevich KRESTYANINOV
fine of RUB 15,000
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention on 07/10/2020 for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence,
30179/21
15/05/2021
Darya Sergeyevna SHUVALOVA
Rally against constitutional amendments
15/07/2020
16/11/2020
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention on 15/07/2020 for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence,
30233/21
Vitaliy Aleksandrovich PETRENKO
1983
Rally against the constitutional amendments
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station, detention on 15/07/2020 for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence,
30351/21
Dmitriy Nikitich GOLIK
30425/21
Nikolay Alekseyevich OZHERELYEV
1990
18/11/2020
30630/21
Daniil Yevgenyevich ROTAR
1993
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention- arrest, escorting to a police station and detention on 15/07/2020 for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence,
30809/21
Aleksey Sergeyevich TYURIN
1999
31543/21
Ramis Ryazhyabovich KHISYAMETDINOV
31710/21
07/06/2021
Denis Nikolayevich BALASHOV
Memorial Human Rights Centre
administrative detention of 15 days
05/02/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention on 31/01/2021 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,
Prot. 7 Art. 2 - delayed review of conviction by a higher tribunal - the sentence of administrative detention imposed on the applicant on 03/02/2021 was executed immediately, on account of the lack of suspensive effect of an appeal under the CAO
5,000
33564/21
09/06/2021
Daniil Vadimovich DOBROYEZZHEV
1998
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention between 31/01/2021 and 01/02/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after an offence record had been compiled
33566/21
Aleksandr Sergeyevich DEGTEREV
fine RUB 10,000
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention- arrest, escorting to a police station and detention between 31/01/2021 and 01/02/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after an offence record had been compiled
33570/21
Svetlana Elfetovna GOLUBEVA
1978
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station, detention between 31/01/2021 and 01/02/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after an offence record had been compiled
33607/21
Nazar Marselevich GARIPOV
33608/21
Sergey Anatolyevich ARZHANTSEV
1959
community service of 20 hours
07/04/2021
33611/21
Ruslan Anatolyevich FOKIN
1986
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station, detention between 31/01/2021 and 01/02/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after an offence record had been compiled,
58683/21
15/11/2021
Aleksandr Petrovich GUSEV
Opposition rally
22/06/2020
fine of RUB 20,000
29/06/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station, detention on 22/06/2020 for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence,
45367/22
19/08/2022
Aleksey Dmitriyevich MOSHCHENKO
Baranova Nataliya Andreyevna
Anti-war protest
St Petersburg
25/02/2022
St Petersburg City Court
19/04/2022
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station, detention on 25/02/2022 for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of an administrative offence,
45792/22
14/09/2022
Kirill Aleksandrovich SEMENOV
24/02/2022
09/06/2022
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - escorting to and detention at the police station on 24/02/2022 for the sole purpose of compiling an offence report,
480/23
11/11/2022
Maksim Dmitriyevich MASYA
2002
13/07/2022
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station, detention on 24/02/2022, for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence (such record complied on 25/02/2022);
1548/23
21/12/2022
Vladislav Vladimirovich VDOVIN
1968
03/03/2022
25/08/2022
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention on 03/03/2022 for the sole purpose of drawing up a record of administrative offence;
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.
