European Court rules Russia violated rights of opposition activist Navalny over house arrest in 2014

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday that Russia violated the rights of Russian opposition activist Aleksey Navalny by placing him under house arrest in 2014 and imposing other restrictive measures on him. Navalny was placed under house arrest in February 2014 and was held there for months while he was investigated for embezzlement. Navalny said the case was politically motivated. On Tuesday, the court also awarded €20,000 to the applicant in damages. The application was submitted to the ECHR in June 2014. Representatives of the Russian government contested the existence of any political motives behind the procedural decisions in the case.