CASE OF NOVIKOVA AND OTHERS v. RUSSIA
Violation of Article 10 - Freedom of expression -{General} (Article 10-1 - Freedom of expression);Pecuniary damage - claim dismissed (Article 41 - Pecuniary damage;Just satisfaction);Pecuniary damage - award (Article 41 - Pecuniary damage;Just satisfaction);Non-pecuniary damage - award (Article 41 - Non-pecuniary damage;Just satisfaction)
Alena Poláčková;Dmitry Dedov;George Nicolaou;Helen Keller;Johannes Silvis;Luis López Guerra;Pere Pastor Vilanova
4. This application was lodged on 27 April 2007 by Marina Viktorovna Novikova, who was born in 1972 and lives in Moscow. The applicant is represented by Yuriy Yershov, a lawyer practising in Moscow. 5. On 10 November 2006 the applicant staged a demonstration in front of the State Duma in Moscow, holding a poster that read “Psychiatry kills our children on our taxes”. According to her, it was a solo static demonstration (одиночное пикетирование) (see “Relevant domestic law and practice” below) and, as such, fell outside the statutory requirement to give prior notification to the competent public authority. Moreover, she took care to position herself at a distance from other people who were also present in front of the State Duma. 6. After about ten minutes, the applicant was approached by police officers, who then took her to the district police station. An arrest record was compiled; the reasons for her arrest are unclear. 7. According to the applicant, she spent some three hours in the police station and was then allowed to leave. 8. The Government submitted to the Court a report issued on 11 November 2006 by the senior officer on-duty, Su. The report stated that the applicant and five other people (including A., M. and S.) had been present at 8.30 a.m. in front of the State Duma, holding posters that read “Attention! Psychiatry kills. 7.5 million roubles of public funds spent on the destruction of lives”, “Do not force taxpayers to pay for psychiatrists’ systematic extermination of Russians”, “Psychiatrists need walls to hide their crimes” and other such statements. The Government also submitted to the Court copies of documents relating to administrative offence proceedings against A., M. and S. 9. As for the applicant, the administrative offence record states that she was accused of “taking part, together with other citizens, in a demonstration in respect of which no prior notification had been provided to the public authorities”. Her actions were classified under Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation (hereinafter “the CAO”), which regulates the penalties applied to violations of the regulations on public events set out in, inter alia, the Public Assemblies Act. 10. Officer G. submitted a written report to his hierarchical superior indicating that the applicant “had been arrested and taken to the police station for violating the regulations on public gatherings, namely Article 20.2 of the CAO”. 11. According to the Government, on 14 November 2006 the case against the applicant was received by the justice of the peace of the Tverskoy District, who on the same day scheduled a hearing for 15 November 2006. According to the applicant, she was not informed of the hearing date until it was too late. Thus, she made no written or oral submissions to the court. 12. Having examined the file, on 15 November 2006 the judge considered that the applicant had been apprised of the hearing but had refused to sign the summons. The court decided to proceed with the case in her absence and held that she had been afforded but had not used an adequate opportunity to make written or oral submissions. On the same day, the judge found the applicant guilty under Article 20.2 § 2 of the CAO and imposed a fine of 1,000 Russian roubles (RUB), which was at the time equivalent to 29 euros (EUR). 13. Referring to the arrest record, the offence record and G.’s report (see above), the court considered that the applicant had participated in a demonstration after which some five people and the applicant had been arrested. In the court’s view, the applicant’s behaviour amounted to participation in a public event requiring prior notification. The justice of the peace then held as follows: “[The applicant’s] actions constitute a violation of the regulations on static demonstrations in that no notification had been made [to the competent authority] about the possibility of staging a demonstration ... Thus, this demonstration was held without legal grounds. The court takes into account that the applicant’s presence next to the object being picketed, together with other people, directly discloses the expression of opinions and attitudes, and thus takes the form of a group public event, namely a static demonstration.” 14. The applicant sought re-examination of the case on appeal by the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow. On 5 December 2006 the court heard the applicant and upheld the judgment of the justice of the peace, concluding that the applicant had taken part in a public event held without prior notification to the competent authority; on 10 November 2006 she had been apprised of the hearing to be held before the justice of the peace but had failed to sign the summons. 15. On 23 January 2007 the Deputy President of the Moscow City Court upheld the District Court’s decision on supervisory review. 16. This application was lodged on 26 August 2011 by Yuriy Ignatyevich Matsnev, who was born in 1937 and lives in Kaliningrad. He was represented by Aleksandr Koss, a lawyer practising in Kaliningrad. 17. On 30 July 2010 the applicant staged a solo demonstration in front of the Kaliningrad Regional Administration building. He was holding a poster showing people (apparently, officials he suspected of corruption) behind bars, and saying “They should be found accountable!” and “Mr Boos! Kaliningrad’s residents are waiting for you to solicit the President!”. Mr S., a journalist, was passing by and filmed the demonstration and the arrival of the police. 18. The applicant was arrested by the police and taken to the police station. He remained there for two hours and was then allowed to leave. No administrative offence proceedings were instituted against him. 19. According to reports subsequently made by the arresting officers, the applicant had not had an identity document on him and had agreed to accompany them to the police station in order to have his identity verified and to have an administrative record compiled. 20. The applicant brought civil proceedings seeking RUB 500,000 as compensation in respect of non-pecuniary damage caused by the authorities’ actions. The applicant referred to Article 10 of the Convention. 21. By a judgment of 14 March 2010, the Tsentralnyy District Court of Kaliningrad acknowledged that the taking of the applicant to the police station and his retention there had been unlawful. The court held as follows: “Following the escorting of [the applicant] to the police station no administrative offence case was opened ... [Mr S.] testified that the defendant had shown his identity document and had not expressed his consent to go with the police to the police station ... The police officers acted unlawfully when escorting the applicant to the police station ...” The court awarded the applicant RUB 6,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage (approximately EUR 149 at the time). It dismissed his claim concerning the alleged destruction of the poster by the police and made no separate findings relating to his freedom of expression. 22. On 25 May 2011 the Kaliningrad Regional Court upheld the judgment. 23. This application was lodged on 10 November 2012 by Viktor Mikhaylovich Savchenko, who was born in 1967 and lives in the village of Platonovo-Petrovka in the Rostov Region. 24. On 23 June 2011, when Mr Putin was visiting the village of Peshkovo, the applicant staged a demonstration, standing at some distance from a road close to the village and holding a poster reading “Mr Putin! In the Rostov region they disregard your Decree on social assistance to families. The Russian Government disregards its obligations to issue housing certificates!” 25. According to the applicant, police officers approached him and ordered him to go to another place where journalists were filming. He arrived there and displayed his poster. He was approached by people in plain clothes who ordered the police to take him to the police station. The police complied. After some three hours in the police station, the applicant was free to leave. 26. The police drew up a record of the administrative escorting in respect of the applicant. 27. The applicant was accused of disorderly behaviour on account of using foul language in a public place on 23 June 2011. On 24 June 2011 a senior police officer found him guilty under Article 20.1 of the CAO (see paragraph 74 below) and imposed a fine of RUB 500 on him. On 21 December 2011 the Azov Town Court overruled the conviction because the senior police officer had not heard evidence from the applicant. The court then discontinued the case owing to the expiry of the time-limit for prosecution. On 7 February 2012 the Rostov Regional Court upheld the judgment on appeal. 28. The applicant brought civil proceedings challenging the actions of the police in respect of him. On 4 April 2012 the Town Court dismissed his claims. On 14 June 2012 the Regional Court upheld the judgment on appeal. The appeal court noted that the courts dealing with the administrative offence case had not determined whether the applicant had committed the impugned action (using foul language) and whether he had committed an offence, but had simply discontinued the case on procedural grounds. The appeal court concluded that the above “did not disclose any unlawfulness” on the part of the law-enforcement officers, while the applicant had not substantiated, in the current case, that their actions had violated or otherwise impeded the exercise of his protected rights or freedoms. 29. This application was lodged on 30 November 2012 by Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Kirpichev, who was born in 1984 and lives in Astrakhan. He is represented by Konstantin Ilyich Terekhov, a lawyer practising in Moscow. 30. At 7.15 p.m. on 3 July 2012 the applicant staged a solo demonstration at a bus stop. He was holding a poster which read “The Kremlin is not for sale – it is a piece of architecture!”. After several minutes some five passers-by stopped and looked at him and his poster. 31. It appears that soon thereafter five police officers approached and warned those present that a meeting required prior notification to the authorities. The passers-by went away. 32. It appears from a video recording submitted by the applicant that one of the police officers refused to listen to the applicant’s explanations and told him that he would be taken to the police station. The applicant was then placed in a police car and taken to the police station. He was accused of holding a public event without giving prior notice. 33. According to the Government, the applicant had staged a public meeting first on the road and then on the pavement near a bus stop. The police officers’ written reports indicated that the applicant had called passers-by to approach and discuss with him the topic of the event. The police decided to apply the escort procedure (доставление) to the applicant because it was necessary to put an end to the administrative offence and because an administrative offence record could not be compiled on the spot since the applicant had no identity document on him. The applicant agreed to go with the police to the police station. 34. On 20 July 2012 a justice of the peace convicted the applicant under Article 20.2 § 2 of the CAO. The court considered that the applicant had held a public event in the form of a meeting (митинг); some five people had gathered but then dispersed after a warning from a police officer. The justice of the peace sentenced the applicant to a fine of RUB 20,000 (approximately EUR 505 at the time), noting that the applicant had committed an offence that was similar to another one for which he had already been convicted earlier the same year. The justice of the peace warned the applicant that his failure to pay the fine would constitute an administrative offence under Article 20.25 of the CAO, which was punishable by a fine of double the amount or up to fifteen days’ detention. 35. The applicant appealed, arguing that the court had failed to take into account his financial situation when imposing a high fine. 36. On 21 August 2012 the Kirovskiy District Court of Astrakhan upheld the judgment on appeal. The appeal court dismissed the argument concerning the amount of the fine by stating that it was the minimum statutory amount prescribed by Article 20.2 § 2 of the CAO. 37. In September 2012 the justice of the peace allowed the applicant to pay the fine in three monthly instalments. 38. This application was lodged on 20 May 2013 by Valeriy Leonidovich Romakhin, who was born in 1965 and lives in Astrakhan. He is represented by Konstantin Ilyich Terekhov, a lawyer practising in Moscow. 39. At 1.30 p.m. on 10 November 2012 the applicant held a solo demonstration in front of the Maritime University in Astrakhan, to express his disagreement with the recent decision to close the university. The applicant was holding a poster that read “To close the university is to commit a crime”. 40. Mr A. was holding a demonstration on the other side of the road, making similar claims. He was holding a poster saying “Annul order no. 101 of 27 September 2012 and find its authors liable”. According to the applicant, he was standing some 50 metres away. The Government submitted that the applicant and A. were at “visual distance from each other”. 41. Shortly after starting his demonstration, the applicant was approached by a police officer who warned him that he was in breach of Article 20.2 of the CAO. He then escorted the applicant to the police station. It appears that A. was also taken to the police station. According to the Government, it was not possible to draw up an administrative offence record on the spot because the applicant had no identity document on him. 42. The applicant was allowed to leave the police station after several hours. 43. In the Astrakhan Region, Law no. 80/2012-FZ of 27 November 2012 set the minimum distance between solo demonstrators at twenty metres. 44. On 6 December 2012 a justice of the peace held a hearing. A. stated that he knew the applicant; without any concerted plan, they had both gone to the university to stage solo demonstrations; the applicant had not prepared his own poster and so had taken one of A.’s posters; they had placed themselves at a distance of some fifty metres from each other. 45. On the same day, the justice of the peace convicted the applicant under Article 20.2 § 2 of the CAO (organisation and holding of a public event without prior notification) and imposed a fine of RUB 20,000 on him. On 5 February 2013 the Sovetskiy District Court of Astrakhan upheld the judgment. The courts considered that the applicant and A. had held a public static demonstration (common logistical organisation, timing and claims disclosing a common goal), which by law required them to notify the local authorities in advance. The courts concluded that the offence impinged upon public order and public security, “having a significant adverse impact on protected public relations”. According to the Government, the applicant was a “participant” in a demonstration with A. 46. It appears that on 26 April 2013 the Astrakhan Regional Court reviewed the case and reduced the fine to RUB 1,000.