Russia’s Supreme Court Cancels Opposition Party Ban

Nearly a year after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the 2007 closure of the tiny opposition Republican Party by the Russian authorities was illegal, Russia’s Supreme Court ruled on Monday to reverse its earlier decision, the first such reversal in years. The party, headed by opposition leader Vladimir Ryzhkov, was closed in May 2007 after the Supreme Court found that the party had less than 50,000 members and fewer than 45 branches with over 500 members as required by the law on political parties. In April 2011, the ECHR declared the ruling unjustified, in particular criticizing the Russian law setting minimum membership requirements for political parties that are the highest in Europe.

http://en.ria.ru/society/20120123/170907040.html