Alexei Navalny during an appearance before a Moscow court in February 2021. ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO / AP
Jailed Russian opponent Alexei Navalny on Tuesday, June 6, secured Russia’s conviction by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) for “absence of an effective investigation” into his 2020 poisoning.
The judges ordered Moscow to pay the main opponent of President Vladimir Putin’s regime €40,000 “for non-pecuniary damage”. The job of this court is to apply the European Convention on Human Rights to its 46 members. Russia was excluded from this in September 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine, but jurisdiction can still be claimed for acts involving Moscow and committed before that date.
In their verdict, the seven judges unanimously considered “that, under suspicious circumstances, there was in fact a serious and imminent threat to the life of Mr. Navalny, which had resulted in an obligation of the (Russian) state under Article 2 of the Law.” Convention, to conduct an effective investigation”.
In August 2020, the Russian adversary was poisoned with Novichok (a product developed by the USSR for military use in the 1970s) before slipping into a coma and requiring life support. The report carried out in Russia came to the conclusion that no toxic substances had been found on him. However, after he was transferred to a Berlin hospital, German authorities said samples had shown the undeniable presence of this particularly potent neurotoxin. These analyzes have been confirmed by other laboratories in France and Sweden.
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Novichok poisoning
The court said Novichok was banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention. Under these conditions, Moscow was obliged to “open a criminal investigation into all activities violating the chemical weapons ban.”
If it doesn’t go as far as blaming the Russian intelligence services for responsibility for the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, the ECtHR emphasizes that “the development and use of these chemicals requires time, skill and a level of organization that could hardly be of individuals without.” any connection to the public authorities can be reached”.
The court finds that Mr Navalny “is a leading figure in the political opposition whose involvement, particularly in the fight against corruption, has led to his arrest, detention, criminal conviction and ill-treatment on numerous occasions and (…) that he was.” The The assertion that he was persecuted for political reasons is justified.
Repeated threats and attacks
Demonstration in support of Alexei Navalny in Moscow, June 4. PA
The adversary had “repeatedly been the subject of threats and attacks,” emphasized the judges. “The political motive should have been an integral part of the investigation. However, the investigation not only failed to address the possible connection between the facts and Mr. Navalny’s public activities, but also did not seriously follow the thesis of the attack with intent, although none of the medical or forensic investigations had established such a natural cause”.
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Alexei Navalny, who celebrated his 47th birthday in prison on Sunday, said he has kept his spirits up despite the tightening of his prison conditions. According to the specialized NGO OVD-Info, at least 45 people were arrested on the same day in several Russian cities in actions in support of Mr. Navalny for his birthday.
Alexei Navalny is set to face trial in a new case of “extremism” soon, with a further 35 years in prison.
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Alexei Navalny has been detained since January 2021 and returned to Russia after recovering from his poisoning. He believes this new case is a way to get him imprisoned for life.
In March 2021, he was sentenced to nine years in prison on a fictional charge of “fraud”. From his prison, 200 kilometers from Moscow, he continues to send messages to his team, telling about his detention and denouncing Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine.