The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ordered Russian authorities to pay out €3,900 each to 19 residents of the Russian city of Yekaterinburg detained at protests against building a cathedral in the location of a famous city park. The decision was posted on the ECHR website.
The court has ruled that the police had violated the protesters’ right to liberty and security of person during detentions (according to Article 5 § 1 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms).
“I can’t say for certain how many applications we filed. It looks as if the money was awarded to those who had been put under arrest. It’s possible that the list might get longer,” lawyer Alexey Bushmakov tells local media outlet E1.ru.
In May 2019, several protests took place in a park near the drama theatre in Yekaterinburg. Protesters were against the local authorities’ plan to cut down the trees in the park to build a cathedral of St. Catherine.
There were multiple clashes between demonstrators and police officers during the protests as well as mass detentions. Following the end of the protests, a criminal case on “mass disorder” was initiated.