In the case of Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and Others v. Russia the Court held that there had been several violations: of the right to respect for private and family life, the home and correspondence, of the freedom of expression, of the freedom of association, of the limitation on use of restrictions on rights and of the protection of property.

The case concerned a cumulative pattern of measures taken against organisations connected with Aleksey Navalnyy, his own family members, his associates and their families. These measures included coordinated mass searches of homes and offices, seizure of property during these searches, freezing of bank accounts, the FBK’s listing as a “foreign agent” and its subsequent designation, along with the other applicant organisations, as “extremist”. This led to certain of the applicant organisations’ dissolution and the criminalisation of any activity linked to them.

The Court found that the measures had formed part of a concerted effort on an unprecedented scale to strike at the heart of and eliminate the organised democratic opposition centred around Aleksey Navalnyy. The official reasons for the measures, namely the fight against money laundering and extremism, had not been supported by any evidence of genuine criminal conduct, but had served as a pretext for dismantling independent political and civic structures.

• Press release