Garry Kasparov at a book discussion at the Free Library of Philadelphia on October 28, 2015. Photo courtesy: kasparov.com
STRASBOURG: Chess master Garry Kasparov on Tuesday won a case against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights for unlawful arrest and violation of his right to attend a rally he missed as a result of his detention.
The complaint by the former world champion and political activist, a Russian national who lives in the United States, dates back to 2007, when Russian authorities confiscated his ticket and passport and detained him at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow.
The detention prevented him from attending an opposition political rally scheduled to be held at an EU-Russia summit in Samara.
According to a court statement, the 53 year-old Kasparov was questioned for five hours over whether his ticket had been forged.
“While the authorities claimed they had been investigating Mr Kasparov for committing the crime of forgery, there was no evidence that any forgery had taken place, let alone that the authorities had a reasonable suspicion that he had committed that offence,” the court statement said.
