On April 30, the European Court of Human Rights published its decision in the Kablis vs. Russia case. It is about blocking the page of activist Grigory Kablis because of his post inviting to gather at Syktyvkar Stefanovskaya Square to discuss the arrest of the top leadership of the Komi Republic together with Governor Vyacheslav Gaizer, 7×7’s correspondent reported.
The court found a violation of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms - Article 10 (“The right to freedom of expression”), Article 11 (“The right to freedom of assembly”), Article 13 (“The right to an effective legal protection”) and appointed Kablis 12.5 thousand euros for non-pecuniary damage and 2.5 thousand euros - for legal costs. The court decision is published on the ECHR website in English.
In September 2015, Grigory Kablis filed an application for a picket on Stefanovskaya Square to discuss the arrest of top leaders of the Komi Republic. The city administration offered him another place, then Kablis wrote on his VKontakte account that he plans to hold a “meeting” to discuss the situation in Komi. The account of Kablis was blocked at the request of the deputy prosecutor of the republic, who considered the message of Kablis a call for an unauthorized rally. Under the threat of blocking the entire site three posts of Kablis were removed in his blog on the site "7×7".
According to Ernest Mezak, a lawyer of the Public Verdict Foundation, who represented Kablis’s interests in the ECHR, the Syktyvkar administration refused the activist, citing a regional law restricting public actions that could not limit pickets. The Supreme Court of Russia on January 23, 2019 confirmed that the restrictions of regional laws do not apply to pickets.
Vyacheslav Gaizer, Governor of the Republic of Komi, and his deputy, Alexey Chernov, were detained on September 19, 2015 on suspicion of organizing a criminal community. The state prosecution asked the court to appoint 21 years of security colony to Gaizer and a fine of 500 million rubles.
