The European court of human rights has ruled that Russia violated the rights of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny by placing him under house arrest in 2014 and imposing other restrictive measures.
Navalny was held under house arrest for months from February 2014 while he and his brother Oleg were investigated for embezzlement in a case his supporters described as politically motivated.
The court in Strasbourg said in a judgment the housearrest order had not been justified and tough restrictions on him communicating with the outside world had been out of proportion with the criminal charges he faced.
It said it was “apparent he had been treated in that way in order to curtail his public activities”.
Navalny wrote “victory” on social media in response to the ruling. “I am sure this ruling will have important consequences for all those in Russia who are constantly subjected to this kind of lawlessness.”
The 42-year-old anti-corruption campaigner is Russia’s most prominent opposition figure. He sought to compete in the presidential elections in March 2018 but was barred because of a previous conviction.
Vladimir Putin won re-election by a landslide.