ECHR rules that Russia must pay Navalny and Ofitserov 86,000 euros
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled in favor of Alexei Navalny and Petr Ofitserov. They had previously submitted a complaint against the decision of the Russian Court in the case of Kirovles. The text of the ruling was published on the website of the ECHR.
The ECHR established that Navalny and Ofitserov were tried for acts which are impossible to distinguish from regular business activities. This is a violation of Article 6 (the right to a fair trial) which, “to the detriment of both claimants, led to an unreasonable outcome of the case,” the decision stated.
The court ordered Russia to pay 8,000 euros to the claimants in compensation for moral damage, as well as to cover the legal costs. Navalny should receive 48,000 euros and Ofitserov should receive more than 22,000 euros. The total compensation would then amount to more than 86,000 euros.
On the 18th of July 2013, the Leninskyi Court in Kirov sentenced Navalny to five years in prison on charges of embezzlement at the company, Kirovles. Ofitserov was also a defendant in the case and was sentenced to four years. Both men were taken into custody in the courtroom. However, they were released the next day pending the judgement being enforced. Later, the Kirov Regional Court changed the verdicts of both defendants to a suspended sentence and a fine of 500,000 rubles.
On the 23rd of October 2015, the Nikulinskyi Court of Moscow took the decision to collect 16.1 million rubles in favor of Kirovles from Navalny and two others who were convicted of stealing the funds.