EC orders Russia to pay damages

MOSCOW: The European Court of Human Rights has ordered Russia to pay damages to an opposition activist arrested at a 2012 Moscow protest that marked the high-point of demonstrations over the re-election of President Vladimir Putin.

In a ruling published on its website on Tuesday, the court ordered Russia to pay 25,000 euros in damages and 7,000 euros in legal costs to Yevgeniy Frumkin.

He had been imprisoned for 15 days over a demonstration on Bolotnaya Square on the eve of Putin’s inauguration that alleged electoral violations.

The Strasbourg court ruled that "the measures taken against (Frumkin) were grossly disproportionate to the aim pursued".

The case of the Bolotnaya protestors has become a cause celebre in Russia, where Putin’s critics see harsh punishments meted out to several protestors as symbolic of repressive treatment of dissent. Putin, who keeps a tight rein on media, remains by far the most popular politician in Russia and appears likely to stand again for re-election in 2018.