FIFTH SECTION
CASE OF GRYAZEV AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA
(Applications nos. 25870/21 and 28 others –
see appended list)
JUDGMENT
STRASBOURG
22 February 2024
This judgment is final but it may be subject to editorial revision.
In the case of Gryazev and Others v. Russia,
The European Court of Human Rights (Fifth Section), sitting as a Committee composed of:
María Elósegui, President,
Mattias Guyomar,
Kateřina Šimáčková, judges,
and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,
Having deliberated in private on 1 February 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 applicants were represented by Mr. N. S. Zboroshenko, a lawyer practising in Mytishchi.
3. The Russian Government (“the Government”) were given notice of the applications.
THE FACTS
4. The list of applicants and the relevant details of the applications are set out in the appended table.
5. The applicants complained of the disproportionate measures taken against them as organisers or participants of public assemblies. They also raised other complaints under the provisions of the Convention.
THE LAW
JOINDER OF THE APPLICATIONS6. Having regard to the similar subject matter of the applications, the Court finds it appropriate to examine them jointly in a single judgment.
JURISDICTION7. 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).
ALLEGED VIOLATION OF ARTICLE 11 OF THE CONVENTION8. 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.
9. 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).
10. 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.
11. 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”.
12. These complaints are therefore admissible and disclose a breach of Article 11 of the Convention.
OTHER ALLEGED VIOLATIONS UNDER WELL-ESTABLISHED CASE-LAW13. 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.
14. 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 (the CAO); and Korneyeva, cited above, §§ 62-65 as to the right of the organisers or participants of public assemblies not to be tried and punished twice for the same offence.
REMAINING COMPLAINTS15. 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 12 and 14 above, the Court considers that there is no need to deal separately with these remaining complaints.
APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 41 OF THE CONVENTION16. 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,
Decides to join the applications;Holds that it has jurisdiction to deal with the applicants’ complaints as they relate to the facts that took place before 16 September 2022;Declares the complaints under Article 11 of the Convention and the other complaints under the well-established case-law of the Court, as set out in the appended table, admissible, and decides that it is not necessary to examine separately the other aspects of the complaints raised by some applicants under Article 6 of the Convention;Holds that these applications disclose a breach of Article 11 of the Convention;Holds that there has been a violation of the Convention and the Protocols thereto as regards the other complaints raised under the well-established case-law of the Court (see appended table);Holds(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 22 February 2024, pursuant to Rule 77 §§ 2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Viktoriya Maradudina María Elósegui
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
Name of the public event
Location
Date
Administrative charges
Penalty
Final domestic decision
Court Name
Date
Other complaints under well-established case-law
Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage per applicant
(in euros)[1]
25870/21
01/05/2021
Vladimir Aleksandrovich GRYAZEV
1993
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
23/01/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 10 days
Moscow City Court
29/01/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention between 23/01/2021 and 25/01/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after the offence record had been compiled,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
25879/21
01/05/2021
German Gennadyevich GUROV
1971
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
23/01/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 10 days
Moscow City Court
29/01/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention between 23/01/2021 and 25/01/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after the offence record had been compiled,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
25925/21
01/05/2021
Aleksey Andreyevich STAVTSEV
1990
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
23/01/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 10 days
Moscow City Court
29/01/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention between 23/01/2021 and 25/01/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after the offence record had been compiled,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
25926/21
01/05/2021
Vasiliy Nikolayevich FILATOV
1987
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
23/01/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 10 days
Moscow City Court
29/01/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention between 23/01/2021 and 25/01/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after the offence record had been compiled,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
25927/21
01/05/2021
Yevgeniy Aleksandrovich SOROKIN
1988
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
23/01/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 10 days
Moscow City Court
29/01/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention between 23/01/2021 and 25/01/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after the offence record had been compiled,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
25931/21
07/05/2021
Sergey Alekseyevich OSHCHEPKOV
1999
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
31/01/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 15 days
Moscow City Court
05/02/2021
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,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
26045/21
01/05/2021
Petr Aleksandrovich KOLOBAYEV
1999
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
23/01/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 10 days
Moscow City Court
29/01/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - unlawful deprivation of liberty– arrest, escorting to a police station and detention between 23/01/2021 and 25/01/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial and after the offence record had been compiled,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
26704/21
01/05/2021
Yegor Vyacheslavovich BITINKOV
2020
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
23/01/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 8 days
Moscow City Court
29/01/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention- arrest, escorting to a police station and detention between 23/01/2021 and 25/01/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after the offence record had been compiled,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
26787/21
01/05/2021
Aleksandr Yevgenyevich BOGACHEV
2000
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
23/01/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 10 days
Moscow City Court
29/01/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention between 23/01/2021 and 25/01/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after the offence record had been compiled,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
27834/21
01/05/2021
Mikhail Aleksandrovich NAYDANOV
1986
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
23/01/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 10 days
Moscow City Court
29/01/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention between 23/01/2021 and 25/01/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after the offence record had been compiled,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
28173/21
11/05/2021
Sofya Mikhaylovna BYKOVA
1995
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
02/02/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 5 days
Moscow City Court
09/02/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention between 02/02/2021 and 03/02/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after the offence record had been compiled,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
28180/21
11/05/2021
Grigoriy Aleksandrovich VAYSBERG
2000
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
02/02/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 8 days
Moscow City Court
09/02/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention between 02/02/2021 and 03/02/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after the offence record had been compiled,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
35656/21
25/06/2021
Marianna Yuryevna ZHUKOVA
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
02/02/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 12 days
Moscow City Court
02/03/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention on 03/02/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after the offence record had been compiled,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
35657/21
25/06/2021
Yelizaveta Alekseyevna POVYSHEVA
2000
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
02/02/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 12 days
Moscow City Court
22/03/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention- arrest, escorting to a police station and detention on 03/02/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after the offence record had been compiled,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
35660/21
25/06/2021
Polina Yevgenyevna SKURATOVICH
1997
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
02/02/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 12 days
Moscow City Court
22/03/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention on 03/02/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after the offence record had been compiled,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
35664/21
25/06/2021
Nadezhda Dmitriyevna TOKMAKOVA
1997
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
02/02/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 12 days
Moscow City Court
22/03/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention- arrest, escorting to a police station and detention on 03/02/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after the offence record had been compiled,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
35938/21
25/06/2021
Yelizaveta Igorevna FROLOVA
1996
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
02/02/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 12 days
Moscow City Court
11/02/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention- arrest, escorting to a police station and detention on 03/02/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after the offence record had been compiled,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
35944/21
25/06/2021
Yuliya Sergeyevna YANCHENKO
1997
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
02/02/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 12 days
Moscow City Court
24/03/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention on 03/02/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after the offence record had been compiled,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
.
5,000
35947/21
25/06/2021
Aleksandra Vyacheslavovna SHALIMOVA
1997
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
02/02/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 12 days
Moscow City Court
22/03/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention on 03/02/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after the offence record had been compiled,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
36271/21
19/05/2021
Sergey Yuryevich SOLONICHENKO
1978
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
31/01/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 15 days
Moscow City Court
05/02/2021
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,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
37784/21
01/07/2021
Mikhail Andreyevich KIM
2002
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
31/01/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 15 days
Moscow City Court
09/02/2021
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,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
37790/21
01/07/2021
Andrey Olegovich PICHUGIN
2002
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
31/01/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 15 days
Moscow City Court
09/02/2021
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 and after the offence record had been compiled,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
37792/21
01/07/2021
Yevgeniya Olegovna RUMYANTSEVA
1999
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
02/02/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 15 days
Moscow City Court
16/04/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station and detention on 03/02/2021 as administrative suspect, pending trial, after the offence record had been compiled,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
37794/21
01/07/2021
Ruslan Sergeyevich CHAPLYGIN
1986
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
31/01/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 15 days
Moscow City Court
10/02/2021
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,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
42351/21
07/05/2021
Yevgeniy Aleksandrovich KOZHEVNIKOV
1996
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
31/01/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
administrative detention of 15 days
Moscow City Court
05/02/2021
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,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings
5,000
44149/21
18/08/2021
Nikota Olegovich BEZRUKOV
1997
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow,
31/01/2021
article 20.2 § 5 of CAO
and
article 19.3 § 1 of CAO
fine of RUB 20,000
and
administrative detention of 10 days
Moscow City Court
09/07/2021
and
Moscow City Court
26/02/2021
Art. 5 (1) (c) - 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,
Art. 6 (1) - lack of impartiality of the tribunal in view of the absence of a prosecuting party in administrative-offence proceedings - both sets of proceedings
Prot. 7 Art. 4 - right not to be tried or punished twice in criminal proceedings - conviction in the two separate sets of proceedings, under Articles 19.3 and 20.2 § 5 of the CAO, on account of participation in the same public event - overlap of the facts constituting the basis for the applicant’s prosecution in the second set of proceedings with substantially the same facts underlying his conviction in the first set of proceedings
5,000
44372/21
17/08/2021
Stepan Vyacheslavovich VAZHENKOV
2001
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
23/01/2021
article 20.2 § 5 of CAO
fine of RUB 10,000
Moscow City Court
16/04/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention- arrest, escorting to a police station, detention on 23/01/2021 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 - raised on appeal
4,000
47450/21
04/09/2021
Anna Aleksandrovna FOMINA
1986
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
23/01/2021
article 20.2 § 5 of CAO
fine of RUB 15,000
Moscow City Court
03/06/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station, detention on 23/01/2021 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
4,000
49590/21
21/09/2021
Sergey Lvovich ANDREYEV
1974
Rally in support of A. Navalnyy
Moscow
31/01/2021
article 20.2 § 6.1 of CAO
fine of RUB 20,000
Moscow City Court
14/04/2021
Art. 5 (1) - unlawful detention - arrest, escorting to a police station, detention on 31/01/2021 for the sole purpose of drawing 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
4,000
[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.