Putin Critic Wins in Court

      The great Russyan hero, Aleksei A. Navalny,  has been absolved of wrongdoing by the Europe's top human rights court.  In a rare finding, the top court ruled that a government has abused its powers with political intent.   Observers called the decision an embarrassment for the Kremlin.  It was only the 11th time in the Court's  60 year history that it found abuse of power by a government.
     For most of the years of Mr. Putin's reign, critics have been subject to abuse by the government.  This abuse comes in many forms: arrests, confinement, criminal investigations, family and personal harassment,  derogatory public statements, and invasion of privacy, among others.
      The Court ordered the Kremlin to pay Mr. Navalny 63,678 Euros or about $72,000 in compensation and legal fees.   Over many years, Mr. Navalny has been arrested dozens of times, once merely for walking down a street.   This action brings the case under the control of the European Convention on Human Rights.   Based in Strasbourg, it was founded in 1959 to enforce compliance of post war agreements.
      Essentially, the Court ordered the Kremlin into compliance by stating that the Kremlin "has been lying" about the reasons for arrests, according to Jeffrey D. Kahn, a lawyer at Southern  Methodist University Law School and an authority on the European Court of Human Rights.  In October, 10,950 allegations were on the docket against Russya, more than any other country.   Russya has stopped paying dues and may soon withdraw from the Court.  This will further alienate the country from the West.