Mothers of two jailed ‘extremist’ teenagers plan an unpermitted march through central Moscow this Wednesday

Protesters will march through Moscow this Wednesday, August 15, demanding the release of Anna Pavlikova and Maria Dubovik, two teenagers arrested in March for allegedly belonging to the “Novoe Velichie” (New Greatness) extremist movement. Organizers are calling it the “Mothers’ March,” and calling on demonstrators to carry their children’s favorite toys. The event does not have a permit from the city. At the time of this writing, 910 people have RSVP’d for the march on Facebook.

Vladimir Chernikov, the head of Moscow’s Transportation Department, is calling on organizers to reschedule the demonstration for a time when they can obtain a permit. Maxim Pashkov, the lawyer representing Anna Pavlikova, has also spoken out against unsanctioned protests, warning that disturbances of the peace in his client’s name could harm her case.

• Pavlikova and Dubovik’s mothers previously published a video appeal to Vladimir Putin, demanding that he order their daughters’ release and punish the officers who “framed” them. The mothers also accuse the police of fabricating evidence against their children. “Do you really have no other enemies than my daughter?” Pavlikova’s mother asks in the video. According to the websites OVD-Info and Medizazona, police had at least one officer embedded undercover in the movement.
• Since being jailed, Pavlikova and Dubovik have reportedly become seriously ill, leading Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova and Presidential Human Rights Council Chairman Mikhail Fedotov to call for their release, though a court recently ignored these requests.