Russia’s repeated arrests of opposition leader Alexei Navalny are politically motivated, the European court of human rights (ECHR) has ruled, in a sharp rebuke of the Russian authorities that is sure to provoke anger in Moscow.

The arrests were aimed at “suppressing political pluralism”, the ruling said.

In a final, binding decision, the court’s grand chamber ordered Russian authorities to pay €63,000 (£55,600) in compensation for moral harm, material damages and court costs.

Navalny, a leading critic of Russian Vladimir Putin, has been repeatedly detained, arrested and charged since 2012, including being convicted for fraud, an act that he has called politically motivated.