MOSCOW, December 4 (RAPSI) - The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled that the rights of Russian opposition activists Alexei Navalny and Ilya Yashin had been violated during their arrest and subsequent administrative detention in Moscow in December 2011, according to the court's press release made public on Thursday.

People rallied in the December 5, 2011 to protest in central Moscow following the discontent with the December 4 State Duma elections.

On December 11, 2011, Navalny and Yashin filed an application with the ECHR, claiming they had been detained without any motives or explanations.

Although they did not resist the police, both men were incarcerated. The very next day, a magistrate court sentenced them to 15 days of administrative detention for disobeying orders of police officers. The activists appealed the verdict on the grounds that the magistrate court had declined to hear witnesses for the defense and to include the materials in the case. On December 7, Moscow’s Tverskoy District Court turned down both appeals.

Navalny and Yashin turned to the ECHR, citing Articles 10 (Freedom of expression) and 11 (Freedom of assembly and association) of the European Convention on Human Rights. They also complained about the violation of the Convention’s Article 6 (Right to a fair trial), Article 3 (Prohibition of torture), Article 13 (Right to an effective remedy) and Article 18 (Limitation on use of restrictions on rights).

The ECHR ruled that five articles of the Convention had been violated and ruled that both plaintiffs be compensated in the amount of 26,000 euros.

In addition, Navalny should receive 2,500 euros as payment for court expenses.