The Constitutional Court ordered that Ildar Dadin be immediately released from detention. He was the first to be convicted under the Kremlin's tightened regulations against anti-government protesters.
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Russia's supreme court has overturned the conviction of peaceful dissident Ildar Dadin. The court ordered the 34-year-old immediately released from custody.
In 2015, Dadin was the first person to be convicted under strict new laws regulating anti-government demonstrations. Under the statute, violating protest rules more than twice in a 180-day period became a felony.
An outspoken supporter of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, Dadin regularly protested against President Vladimir Putin's infamous "gay propaganda" law and Russian military action. He was sentenced to three years in prison, though the term was later reduced to 30 months on appeal.
Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland welcomed the court decision, saying the "freedom of assembly is fundamental to democracy."
"The Supreme Court ruling is based on an earlier judgment from the Russian constitutional court, which rightly said that repeated violations of rules on public gatherings should be seen as a criminal offense," Jagland said.
The different faces of Vladimir Putin
Forbes magazine ranked Russian President Vladimir Putin as the most powerful person of 2016 - followed by US President-elect Donald Trump. This picture gallery shows different aspects of Putin's personality.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
From KGB to Kremlin
Putin joined the KGB, the former Soviet Union's security agency, in 1975. In the 1980s he undertook his first foreign posting as a KGB agent to Dresden, Germany. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Putin returned to Russia and entered Boris Yeltsin's Kremlin. When Yeltsin announced that he wanted Putin as his successor, the way was paved for him to become prime minister.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/M.Klimentyev
First presidency
On his appointment, Putin was virtually unknown to the general public. This changed when in August 1999 armed men from Chechnya invaded the neighboring Russian territory of Dagestan. President Yeltsin appointed ex-KGB officer Putin to bring Chechnya back under the central government's control. On New Year's Eve, Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned and named Putin as acting president.
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Tough guy in the media
During an exhibition hockey game in Sochi, Putin’s team won 18-6, with the president scoring eight goals.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/A. Nikolsky
Limited freedom of speech
A protester wears a tape over his mouth reading "Putin" during an opposition rally. In 2013 the Kremlin announced that the state-owned news agency, RIA Novosti, was to be restructured and placed under the control of a pro-Kremlin figure known for his extreme anti-Western views. Reporters without Borders ranked Russia as 148 in its list of 178 countries in terms of press freedom.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/V.Maximov
Putin's Image: A man of action
Putin's image as a man of action, boosted by his having been a KGB spy, has long been part of his appeal in Russia. It is carefully maintained by means of photos where he is seen bare-chested on horseback, or tossing opponents onto a judo mat. In Russia, Putin has earned praise for restoring stability but has also been accused of authoritarianism.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Nikoskyi
Stifling democracy
When President Putin's United Russia party won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in 2007, critics described the vote as neither free nor democratic. Dozens were detained as riot police broke up protests by demonstrators accusing President Putin of stifling democracy. In this rally the poster reads: "Thank you, no!"
Image: Getty Images/AFP/Y.Kadobnov
Orchestrated events
In Sevastopol, Crimea, Putin looks through the window of a research bathyscaphe in the waters of the Black Sea. This dive in a mini-submarine was only one of his adventurous stunts; he has also been seen tranquilizing wild tigers and flying with endangered cranes. It was also aimed at cementing his image as an adventurer, and demonstrating his control of the annexed territory of Crimea.
Image: Reuters/A. Novosti/RIA Novosti/Kremlin
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Dadin alleges regular beatings by guards
Last November, Dadin said that he was being tortured by prison guards. He said that they had beaten him and threatened to rape and murder him. A subsequent investigation found that the situation was serious enough for the activist to be moved to a different prison.
The outcry reached such a fever pitch that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the case merited "the closest attention" from the government, and that President Putin would be informed.
On February 10, the Constitutional Court decided to order a review of Dadin's case. On Tuesday, while dismissing the charges against him, the judges also said that the protest regulations needed to be applied more proportionately.
