On appeal, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights confirmed on Thursday 15 November Russia's conviction in the Navalny case and recognised the “political nature” of the multiple arrests made over the past six years of Vladimir Putin's main opponent.
The absence of this political dimension in the wording of the first judgement had led the plaintiff to appeal a judgement which was nevertheless favourable to him. The judgement published on Thursday gives him the upper hand by stating that “the political motive behind his arrests was a fundamental aspect of the case”. "Two of the arrests were devoid of legitimate aims and five others were not necessary in a democratic society", says the judgement, which considers that the thesis that Alexei Navalny was a “special target [...] appears to be consistent with a general tendency to silence the opposition”.
The Court also notes “structural deficiencies” in the legal regime and calls on Russia to “establish a legal mechanism to ensure that the authorities take due account of the fundamental importance of the right to peaceful assembly and demonstrate the necessary tolerance towards unauthorised but peaceful gatherings”.
“Very satisfied" with the announcement of the decision, however, Alexei Navalny does not expect Russia to implement the judgement. “They will say that European justice has political motives [...] this is the standard reaction of the Russian government”, he believes. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)