On October 23, 2012, the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights released its judgment on the case of Alexey Pichugin, a former Yukos employee arrested in 2003 and sentenced in 2005 to 20 years’ imprisonment. The Court ruled that Pichugin’s first trial was unjust and that a retrial or reopening of the proceedings would be warranted.

On March 19, 2013 the ECHR judgment became final, after the Court rejected a request by Russia to review it.

Interfax reported today that a Russian Ministry of Justice official has stated that Russia will comply with the decision of the Strasbourg court. A representative of the Ministry of Justice said: “The Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms does not include any other legal options for further proceedings at the ECHR, except those that have already been used by the Government, therefore this judgment is enforceable“.

On October 23, 2012, Pichugin’s lawyer Ksenia Kostromina announced her intention to launch an appeal to Russia’s Supreme Court, to overturn Pichugin’s sentence.

It remains to be seen whether Russia will just pay the nominal €9,500 awarded by the ECHR to Pichugin, or also reopen the case, which the Strasbourg court stated would be the “most appropriate form of redress”.