On 16 June, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg issued a decision on the case of the participants of the March of Dissent, who were beaten by police forces during a march in Saint Petersburg on April 15 2007. Riot police violently forced 60 people to disperse, including passers-by who did not participate in the march. Olga Tsepilova, chair of the Green Russia faction of the Yabloko party, associate member of the EGP who attended the march, as well as passers-by Alexander Kazantsev and Natalia Kazantseva, were injured.
In the decision on June 16, 2020, the ECHR indicated that Russia violated Articles 3 (ban on torture) and 11 (freedom of assembly and association) of the Geneva Convention, and ruled in favor of the plaintiffs.
Olga Tsepilova, chair of the Green Russia faction of Yabloko, commented:
“It was a thorny path, 13 years long, that we went along with our wonderful lawyer Olga Tseytlina, encountering constant rudeness on the part of the authorities and even destruction of documents and medical records. We managed to achieve moral compensation, and most importantly, recognition of our rights - not to be beaten by the police at a permitted peaceful rally.”
Evelyne Huytebroeck, co-chair of the European Green Party, and Michal Berg, committee member of the EGP added:
“The right and freedom of peaceful assembly is one of pillars of every strong democracy. As European Greens, the fight for these fundamental rights and freedoms are the core of our movement. We wish to congratulate Olga and Green Russia for the tireless fight they put up for 13 years in an extremely difficult context. We are satisfied that the ECHR has recognised that her rights were violated.”
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Valentin Dupouey
Head of the Communication Unit / Press Officer
E valentin.dupouey@europeangreens.eu
T +32 (0) 485 93 99 26
European Green Party
Rue Wiertz 31, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
www.europeangreens.eu
