Newsletters / Detained Open Russia Activists Appeal To European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights has received appeals from Open Russia Movement Chairman Andrey Pivovarov, press-secretary Natalia Griaznevich, and three activists from Primorsky Krai Andrey Yarotsky, Maria Zinchenko and Vladimir Dubovsky who were all violently detained by police during an Open Russia conference in Vladivostok.

The complainants have called on the ECHR to act immediately in relation to Russia and have shown that:

–    There was no legal basis for their detention, neither was there any basis for the use of force.

–    The complainants were not given food or water until the very end of the court proceedings, nor did they have a place to sleep.

–    The complainants were not allowed access to lawyers, and their communication devices were confiscated.

–    Police officers falsified evidence in relation to the case, and the court order was established on this false basis alone.

–    Detention conditions in the police station do not correspond with international human rights norms.

Rule 39 of ECHR regulation gives the court the right to forbid a state from applying measures that may harm the life and/or health of an individual.

On June 12 as many as 15 police officers raided an Open Russia conference in Vladivostok, violently detaining a number of activists present at the peaceful event.  Two of those detained later received 15-days in jail for no more than attending the gathering of free individuals.  The activists were beaten during detention and were deprived of food, water and sleep during their time at the police station.