CASE OF YELISEYEV v. RUSSIA
Violation of Article 11 - Freedom of assembly and association (Article 11-1 - Freedom of peaceful assembly)
Alena Poláčková;Helen Keller;Pere Pastor Vilanova
4. The applicant was born in 1967 and lives in Kalinkovichi. 5. On 29 March 2008 the applicant was stopped by a Russian customs officer at the border crossing into Belarus. After having checked the applicant’s documents, the officer informed the applicant that, having failed to declare his Opel car when entering Russia, he had infringed the Russian customs regulations. The officer instituted administrative proceedings against the applicant and impounded his car. 6. On 11 June 2008 Colonel B., Head of the Novozybkov Customs Post of the Bryansk Customs Office, examined the applicant’s case. He found the applicant liable for having failed to declare the car and ordered him to pay a fine in the amount of 35,509.50 Russian roubles (RUB). He further ruled that the applicant’s car, which had been impounded by customs, should be returned to the applicant. The applicant appealed. 7. On an unspecified date the Novozybkov Town Court of the Bryansk Region fixed the hearing for 8 August 2008. 8. On 8 August 2008 the Town Court examined the applicant’s appeal and upheld the decision of 11 June 2008. The court heard the case in the applicant’s absence. In the operative part of the judgment, the court advised the applicant of his right to appeal against the judgment adopted by the Town Court. 9. According to the applicant, the letter from the Town Court notifying him of the date and time of the court hearing reached him on 9 August 2008. 10. On 26 September 2008 the applicant received a copy of the Town Court’s judgment of 8 August 2008 by post. 11. On an unspecified date the applicant lodged an appeal with the Bryansk Regional Court. On 13 November 2008 the Regional Court sent a letter to the applicant informing him that his appeal was dismissed. 12. The subsequent request by the applicant for supervisory review was dismissed by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on 26 January 2009. 13. On 20 August 2009 the Acting Head of the Novozybkov Customs Post of the Bryansk Customs Office discontinued the enforcement proceedings in respect of the decision of 11 June 2008. He noted that the applicant was a foreign national and had no assets or known place of residence in the Russian Federation and that it was impossible to enforce the decision of 11 June 2008 on account of the expiry of the relevant time-limit. 14. On 24 August 2009 the Bryansk Customs certified that (1) the decision concerning the applicant’s administrative liability had come into force on 15 July 2009; and (2) the applicant had failed to reclaim his car within a month of that date. 15. On an unspecified date the regional agency in charge of the federal property applied to the Town Court seeking to reclaim the applicant’s car as bona vacantia. 16. On 12 November 2009 the Town Court granted the agency’s claims in full. It took into account that, as claimed by the agency, the applicant had been repeatedly summoned to the regional customs office to pick up his car. According to the documents submitted by the Government, the court decided to hear the case in the applicant’s absence given that he had been duly notified of the hearing and chose not to attend. The applicant did not appeal. 17. On 2 June 2010 the judgment of 12 November 2009 was enforced. 18. On 19 March 2012 the leaders of the Strategy-31 movement notified the Mayor of Moscow of their intention to organise a rally (from 6 to 8 p.m.) at Triumfalnaya Square in the centre of Moscow and a march (from 8 to 8.30 p.m.) from Triumfalnaya Square down Tverskaya Street to Manezh Square on 31 March 2012 (Saturday). Approximately 1,500 people were expected to attend. The events were organised to promote the right to peaceful assembly as set forth in Article 31 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the freedom of Parliamentary elections in Russia. 19. On 20 March 2012 the Government of Moscow refused to agree on the venues for the rally and the march. According to the authorities, there was archeological and construction work going on in Triumfalnaya Square and the march, according to the indicated route, would “disrupt the normal functioning of the city’s infrastructure and traffic [and] infringe the rights and interests of people who would not take part [in the rally and the march]”. The authorities further suggested two alternative venues for the planned events, also located in the centre of Moscow. 20. On 29 March 2012 the leaders of the Strategy-31 movement informed the Mayor of Moscow that the rally would take place at the venue indicated in their notification of 19 March 2012. 21. On 31 March 2012 the rally was held as planned by its organisers at Triumfalnaya Square. The applicant took part. At 6.30 p.m. he was arrested and brought to the police station. According to the arrest record, the applicant had taken part in an unauthorised gathering and chanted slogans such as “Down with Putin”, “Let us stop the dictatorship” and “Fascism shall not pass”. 22. On 17 April 2012 the Justice of the Peace of Precinct no. 367 of the Tverskoy District of Moscow found that the rally held on 31 March 2012 had been organised in contravention of the existing procedure and that the applicant had taken part in it without having verified whether it had been legitimate. The court found the applicant administratively liable for violation of the established procedure for organising a public assembly and fined him RUB 500. The applicant appealed. 23. On 21 May 2012 the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow upheld the decision of 17 April 2012 on appeal.