MOSCOW, April 4 (RAPSI) – The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) held that rights of a Russian national, who had been involuntary placed in a psychiatric facility, were violated, and awarded €1,500 in compensation to him.

The applicant, whose name has not been disclosed, was forcibly confined in a psychiatric hospital in April 2007 for numerous telephone calls to the police about the presence of explosives at an industrial facility, regular and allegedly groundless calls for emergency assistance at his home and aggressive behavior towards medical personnel.

The man has lodged an appeal against this ruling claiming that a legal aid lawyer had failed perform her functions properly. The St. Petersburg City Court dismissed the appeal. However, the applicant has been discharged from hospital after an improvement in his mental health.

In his complaint filed with the ECHR, the St. Petersburg resident insisted on violation of his rights in relation to placement in a psychiatric facility without his consent and ineffective legal assistance.

The Strasbourg Court held that the applicant’s rights ensured by Article 5 § 1 (Right to liberty and security) of the European Convention on Human Rights had been violated.