MOSCOW, January 28 (RIA Novosti) – Russian opposition figurehead and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny has appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), seeking compensation for his detention at a camp-out staged to protest President Vladimir Putin's third term, his lawyer said on Monday.

Navalny seeks €4,500 ($6,050) from Russia for his detention on the early morning of May 8, 2012, in downtown Moscow, which he considers unlawful, his lawyer Konstantin Terekhov told the RAPSI news agency.

In his complaint Navalny says that Russian state officials violated Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to freedom of assembly and association, Terekhov said.

Navalny, an outspoken critic of the Kremlin, was detained near the Presidential Administration building while posing for a group photo with other opposition activists.

Navalny’s lawyer has also petitioned the Strasbourg court to find the trial unfair, as the judges refused to summon witnesses or to watch the footage made at the scene.

This is Navalny’s third complaint to the ECHR. Two previous ones had been filed to protest his earlier arrest and a fine for his opposition-related activities.