Doping case: Kamila Valieva appeals to European Court of Human Rights

The European Court of Human Rights has accepted Kamila Valieva’s challenge to rulings that upheld her punishment in a doping case tied to a sample from December 2021.

The Russian figure skater is contesting both the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s original decision and its refusal to reopen the case after new evidence was presented. She is also challenging the four-year competition ban and the cancellation of all her results. The ban ended on Dec. 25, 2025.

CAS found Valieva had intentionally violated anti-doping rules, even though she was 15 when she provided the sample and therefore classified as a protected person under the World Anti-Doping Agency’s code. Valieva appealed to Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court in October 2024, but that court rejected the appeal, finding no grounds to accept it.

The European court has asked Swiss authorities for additional information. It has joined Valieva’s complaint with those of seven other athletes, including Russian biathletes Evgeny Ustyugov and Svetlana Sleptsova and high jumper Aleksandr Sustov.

The International Skating Union withdrew Valieva’s neutral-athlete status last week. She had been part of the Russian Olympic Committee team that initially won the figure-skating team event at the 2022 Winter Olympics and has returned to competition in Russia. The young skater is also known for supporting Vladimir Putin.