ECHR Declares Russias 2021 Detention of Navalny as Violation of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) declared on Tuesday that Russia subjected opposition leader Alexei Navalny to «inhuman treatment» after his arrest in 2021, shortly before his death in an Arctic prison three years later.

Navalny, a well-known anti-corruption advocate and outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, was detained in 2021 upon his return to Russia from Germany, where he had been recuperating from a Novichok nerve agent poisoning in 2020 while campaigning in Siberia.

The ECHR ruled that Navalny’s imprisonment was unlawful, stemming from the enforcement of a suspended sentence related to a 2014 conviction for fraud and money laundering, which the court had previously deemed invalid.

In its decision, the ECHR stated that the activist encountered «a combination of various forms of mistreatment,» demonstrating a consistent disregard for his health, well-being, and dignity, thereby constituting inhuman and degrading treatment.

During his time in one of the prisons, the court reported that Navalny was subjected to having his head shaved, was under continuous video monitoring, and faced sleep deprivation due to frequent security checks every one to two hours.

At the time of his death in February 2024 under mysterious circumstances at an Arctic prison, Navalny was serving a lengthy 19-year sentence on multiple charges widely regarded as politically motivated.

The ECHR permitted Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, to pursue the case on his behalf and mandated Russia to pay 26,000 euros (approximately $30,600) in compensation.

Following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia exited the Council of Europe, which oversees the ECHR. However, the court has maintained that Moscow is still accountable for violations that occurred prior to its withdrawal, despite Russia frequently disregarding the court’s rulings.

Reporting contributed by AFP.