ECHR orders Russia to pay Ukrainian journalist EUR 9,000 for unlawful arrest

This is reported by the Human Rights Information Centre.

"While examining the Butkevich v. Russia case, the ECHR unanimously held that there was the violation of Article 5 paragraph 1 (right to liberty and security), Article 6 paragraph 1 (right to a fair trial) and Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights," the Centre reports.

The case relates to the arrest of Ukrainian citizen Butkevich, who happened to be around when a so-called “anti-globalism” march was taking place in  in St. Petersburg on July 16, 2006. He was detained and taken to a police station and charged with an administrative offense for failure to comply with the police order. The case was examined in an accelerated manner, and the same evening the journalist was sentenced to three days of detention. On July 18, 2006, the court of appeals reduced this sentence to two days and released Butkevich.

According to the ECHR judgment, Russia is to pay Maksym Butkevich EUR 7,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage and EUR 2,000 in respect of costs and expenses. The judgment has been published on the ECHR website.

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