Court says denial of int'l passport to Navalny is lawful
MOSCOW. Sept 28 (Interfax) - The Lyublino District Court in Moscow has refused to compel the Migration Service to issue an international passport to opposition activist Alexei Navalny.
"Having considered the arguments of the sides, the court has concluded that the claim of the appellant against the respondent, the Maryino branch of the Interior Ministry's Migration Service, should not be upheld," court press secretary Lyudmila Morozova told Interfax on Friday.
Navalny's lawyer, Vadim Kobzev, said the decision will be appealed. "Navalny has been denied the international travel passport due to his outstanding conviction; the period of his probation has not expired. But we believe that the Migration Service has misinterpreted the law," Kobzev said.
The law allows for travel restrictions but does not require them, he said.
Navalny was also denied an international passport in 2015, Kobzev said. The defense appealed the decision to the European Court of Human Rights, and the latter sided with the opposition activist, Kobzev said.