Russia’s supreme court on Wednesday cancelled the conviction of prominent anti-Kremlin activist Ildar Dadin and ordered his release from jail, Interfax news agency reported.
Dadin, 34, was sentenced to three years in prison – reduced to two and a half on appeal – in December 2015 for a series of peaceful one-man protests against the Kremlin.
“Dadin is to be released from custody,” Interfax cited the ruling as saying.
The motion came after the constitutional court on Feb 10 ordered a review of Dadin’s conviction, arguing that a law that criminalised certain types of protests had to be applied more proportionately.
Dadin was the first person to be jailed under a 2014 law, adopted after big anti-Kremlin protests, that criminalised the violation of protest rules more than twice in 180 days.
Last November, Dadin said he was tortured in jail in north-west Russia. Jail officials dismissed the allegations, but the activist was subsequently moved to another prison.