In December 2014, Navalny was sentenced to 3.5 years for the embezzlement of 30 million rubles ($500,000) from the Yves Rocher cosmetics company and the Multifunctional Processing Company (MPC). The sentence was again suspended.
"The Court held that Russia was to pay Mr Navalnyy 1,025 euros (EUR) in respect of pecuniary damage, EUR 50,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage and EUR 12,653 in respect of costs and expenses," the press release reads.
According to the court, Navalny was arrested in an unjustified manner for at least five times throughout the period from March 2012 to February 2014 during peace demonstrations or walkouts.
"Breaking up a demonstration is not necessarily justified, simply because there was no prior authorisation for it. In order to safeguard the right to freedom of assembly public authorities must show a certain degree of tolerance to such irregular meetings, when the gathering does not involve violence… In this case, the gatherings and the conduct of Mr Navalnyy had been undeniably peaceful. Nevertheless, the meetings were dispersed, Mr Navalnyy was arrested," the court said.
Navalny heads the Party of Progress. In 2013, he finished second in the Moscow mayoral election, with 27 percent of the vote. He voiced an intention to run in 2018 presidential election in Russia.
