On Monday, October 7, 2013, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights rejected Russia’s request to review the Court’s June 6 judgment in a case involving Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Court found Russia guilty of violating privacy rights and ordered the government to pay damages of 5,000 euros ($6,622) each to Ms. V. Zhukova and Ms. Y. Avilkina. In this case, Russian officials had acquired the private medical records of these individuals from the hospital without their authorization. Russia requested that the case be referred to the Court’s Grand Chamber, which has the authority to reconsider the case. However, the Court rejected Russia’s request. The June 6 judgment is now final, and consequently, Russia is under obligation to respect privacy rights in such circumstances and pay the damages ordered by the Court.

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