In the case of Shlosberg v. Russia the Court held that there had been a violation of the right to free elections.

The case concerned an opposition politician who stood as a candidate in the 2021 State Duma elections and was disqualified on account of his involvement in an organisation classified as extremist by the Russian authorities. This “involvement”, according to the authorities, had consisted in taking part in a peaceful rally in support of Alexei Navalny and in encouraging others to do the same.

The Court found that exercising the Convention right to peaceful assembly could not constitute grounds for any sanction, including disqualification from standing for Parliament. This reason had been an arbitrary ground for disqualification. That consideration was all the more relevant with regard to the action for which the applicant had been criticised, which consisted in merely encouraging other people to take part in this rally. The applicant’s disqualification, while formally complying with positive law, had thus been based on arbitrary grounds.

• Press release