MOSCOW, August 8 (RAPSI) – The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has given top priority to an appeal by two Russians, accused of involvement in the May 6 riot in Moscow last year, against the conditions of their detention.
Vladimir Akimenkov and Yaroslav Belousov appealed to the court against the lengthy term of their detention and the allegedly inhumane conditions under which they are being held, their attorney Dmitry Agranovsky told RAPSI Thursday.
The ECHR’s decision to give the appeal priority implies that their complaint will be considered as soon as possible.
The ECHR made a similar decision in July regarding the complaint of Kirov-born citizen Leonid Kovyazin, who has been also accused of participating in the Bolotnaya Square riots in Moscow last year.
The riot took place at a Moscow protest rally on the eve of Vladimir Putin's inauguration for a third presidential term in May 2012. The rally ended in clashes between protesters and the police.
Over 400 people were arrested and scores injured when protesters briefly broke through police lines.
A criminal case was initiated after a documentary film titled "Anatomy of Protest 2" was shown on the NTV broadcasting network. The film claimed the opposition was organizing a coup using funds from abroad and showed Left Front movement coordinator Sergei Udaltsov and his companions allegedly talking with Georgian politician Givi Targamadze, who at the time headed Georgia's Parliamentary Defense and Security Committee. The film claimed Targamadze had been involved in planning the so-called "color" revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine, as well as mass riots in Belarus.
