The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Russian courts violate the rights of suspects by putting them in metal cages during trial.
The court, in a ruling today, found that confinement in a metal cage "amounted to degrading treatment" and is "incompatible with the standards of civilised behaviour that were the hallmark of a democratic society."
It ordered Russia to pay 16,000 euros total to two plaintiffs Alexander Svinarenko and Valentin Sladnyev for damages and legal costs. The two men went through lengthy Russian legal proceedings involving charges of extortion and violence.
The ruling by the court's Grand Chamber in Strasbourg, France puts pressure on Russia to change its practices by finding that the cages violate the European Convention of Human Rights. Russia is party to that convention.
