Legal Case of the Week: V.K. v. Russia [European Court of Human Rights]

posted 10 Apr 2017, 10:01 by Rights in Russia   [ updated 10 Apr 2017, 10:03 ]
On 4 April 2014 in the case of V.K. v. Russia, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held that the rights of a Russian national involuntarily placed in a psychiatric facility had been violated, and awarded €1,500 in compensation, RAPSI has reported. In the case, the European Court of Human Rights found a violation of Article 5 § 1 of the Convention (right to liberty and security). The applicant (unnamed) was represented by Dmitry Bartenev, a lawyer practicising in St. Petersburg. According to the record of the case published in HUDOCS, "The applicant alleged that his involuntary placement in a psychiatric facility had been unlawful under Article 5 § 1 of the Convention due to the failure of the national authorities to meet the substantive requirements of that provision, and under Article 5 § 4 of the Convention because of procedural defects in the judicial authorisation of his admission to hospital." RAPSI reports that the applicant "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." Subsequently, St Petersburg City Court dismissed an appeal brought by the person in question against the ruling that placed him in the psychiatric hostpital. The applicant was subsequently discharged from the hospital. 

Sources: 
'V.K. v. Russia,' HUDOCS, 4 April 2017
'Rights of Russian citizen forcibly placed in psychiatric hospital violated - ECHR,' RAPSI, 4 April 2017
'European Convention on Human Rights,' European Court of Human Rights, website
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