Information Note on the Court’s case-law 248
February 2021
Navalnyy v. Russia (communicated case) - 36418/20
Article 2
Article 2-1
Effective investigation
Complaint of failure to effectively investigate alleged attempted murder of opposition politician through use of a chemical nerve agent: communicated
The applicant, a Russian opposition politician, experienced sudden, acute malaise and lost consciousness during a domestic flight. He was transferred for treatment in a hospital in Berlin, Germany two days after the incident. The German Government subsequently published a press release stating that tests carried out on the applicant revealed the presence of a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group, which constituted a severe violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
On the same day as the incident, an associate of the applicant, Mr G., filed a request with the Investigation Committee of the Russian Federation to open criminal proceedings, alleging that the applicant had been intentionally poisoned, in an attempted murder related to his political activity.
Between September and October 2020, the investigating authorities twice issued decisions dispensing with the criminal investigation on grounds that there had been no objective information received that any intentional criminal acts had been committed in respect of the applicant; on both occasions, the decision was quashed and the pre-investigation inquiry extended.
Mr G. unsuccessfully challenged the inaction of the investigating authorities on several occasions. A court also rejected the request to return the applicant’s personal belongings seized for the inquiry.
The applicant complains that he had been poisoned with the chemical agent which only state services have access to and that the Russian authorities have failed to conduct an effective investigation into his attempted murder.
Communicated under Article 2 (procedural aspect) in conjunction with Article 13 of the Convention.
© Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights
This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.
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