Translated material
Freedom of assembly (March 11–16)
practice
Moscow police promised to prevent a collision between two antagonistic marches
“The organizers of the “Peace March” (Petr Tsarkov) and the “March of Brotherhood and Civil Resistance” (Sergei Kurginyan “Essence of Time”) decided on the issue of crossing the action routes with the Moscow authorities. Earlier it became known that the Moscow Department of Regional Security had agreed on the routes of the pacifist action and Kurginyan’s march, which intersect on Petrovsky Boulevard near Trubnaya Square. In addition, according to the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Moscow, the movement of columns of both actions begins at 14:00. As the organizer of the Peace March, Pyotr Tsarkov, told Novaya, representatives of the headquarters assured that when the column of the pacifist march approaches Trubnaya Square, the participants in the second action will already pass this section. “We can slightly shift the start of the procession to ensure that we avoid a collision. We can start not at 2 p.m. from Pushkin Square, but after information appears that there are no participants of another action on the route,” says Tsarkov, adding that the movement of the column can begin even at 14:30. At the same time, he said that the organizers of the “March of Brotherhood and Civil Resistance” did not take part in negotiations with the Moscow government and the police on this issue. “There were no trilateral negotiations. It is unlikely that representatives of Kurginyan and the Moscow government are interested in them,” Tsarkov noted. In his opinion, such an omission on the part of the authorities when coordinating routes was deliberate. However, as an organizer, Tsarkov promised to do everything to avoid clashes with opponents. The press service of the Essence of Time movement stated that the collision of the columns was initially impossible. “A collision is basically impossible. They start moving a kilometer away from us at the same time,” said a representative of the movement. “We were assured that they would do everything possible to ensure the safety of the participants in both actions.”
“Moscow police detained several participants in the Peace March opposition rally in the center of the capital. Interfax reports this with reference to the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Moscow. “At the procession “Against the reunification of Crimea with Russia,” citizens were detained who were carrying a flag with symbols related to the Third Reich,” the police said.”
Three people were detained at an anti-war picket in Syktyvkar
“Members of the human rights commission “Memorial” of the Komi Republic Mikhail Rogachev, Sergei Sorokin and Semyon Tereshonkov were detained for an anti-war action. They held a picket at the reception of the head of state in Syktyvkar...”
Participants in protests in support of Putin’s actions in Crimea receive orders to postpone from March 17 to 18
“Mass rallies in support of the policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine may be postponed from March 17 to 18. Employees of many budgetary institutions write about this on blogs and social networks. Let us remind you that the rallies were to take place in several Russian cities at once, including Moscow. Today, public sector employees are reporting on the Internet that their enterprises have received the appropriate orders regarding the transfer of shares. What this may be connected with is not specified...”
In St. Petersburg, an action against the introduction of Russian troops into the territory of Ukraine took place without approval
“Novaya Gazeta Yug”, March 15 :
“The authorities of St. Petersburg never agreed on the place and time of the action, so at 2 o’clock in the afternoon an anti-war People’s Assembly was held near the Kazan Cathedral. On Saturday the weather in St. Petersburg deteriorated sharply. Only about 500 people came to the rally. There were a lot of people covering the action: journalists, photographers, bloggers. There were some provocateurs and arrests. One of the provocateurs tried to snatch the Ukrainian flag from the hands of human rights activist Natasha Tsymbalova. The protesters sang Ukrainian songs and shared alarming news. The anti-war gathering lasted until 4 pm, after which the demonstrators dispersed peacefully.”
Pyotr Pavlensky fined for protesting in support of Maidan
“Echo of Moscow in St. Petersburg”, March 11 :
“Together with Pavlensky, two of his associates have also been brought to administrative responsibility,” said Dinar Idrisov, a representative of the “Help to Detainees” group. “Three people detained during an art event by Peter Pavlesky on February 23 on Maly Konyushenny Bridge were found guilty by the court of “violating the procedure for holding a public event in the form of picketing.” They were given fines in the amount of 10 thousand rubles,” he said. - The judge points out that the picketing was spontaneous, while simultaneously recognizing that the picketing was not coordinated. The fine is minimal, while ignoring the opinion of the Constitutional Court, which declared these minimal fines unconstitutional.”
Bans on LGBT rallies in Kostroma appealed to the European Court
“On Saturday, March 15, the founder of the Moscow Gay Pride movement, Nikolai Alekseev, appealed to the European Court of Human Rights the bans by the Administration of the city of Kostroma of a gay pride march in support of a tolerant attitude and respect for the rights and freedoms of people of homosexual orientation in Russia, as well as two rallies against the local law on the ban on the so-called propaganda of homosexuality among minors, planned in May last year. In his complaint to the Strasbourg Court, Nikolai Alekseev demanded that the Russian authorities violate three articles of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, guaranteeing the right to freedom of assembly, the right to effective judicial protection and the right not to be discriminated against. Notifications about the march and rallies were submitted to the Administration of Kostroma on May 6, 2013, and on May 13 it became known that the City Administration had approved the holding of the events, but proposed moving the venues to the outskirts of the city, which the organizers immediately agreed to. The gay pride procession was supposed to take place on May 19 along Zelenaya Street, and rallies on May 20 in the area of house No. 142 on Lenin Street. However, on May 16 and 17, the head of the Kostroma Administration, Viktor Yemets, personally prohibited the holding of the announced events, of which their organizer Nikolai Alekseev was notified in writing. The gay pride march was banned due to the proximity of one of the colonies for especially dangerous criminals to its route, and rallies were prohibited due to an accident on the water supply line in the area of the stele near house No. 142 on Lenin Street. Thus, the Kostroma authorities refused to hold marches and rallies in those places where they had previously invited the organizers to hold them. In violation of the procedure established by law for approving public events, the organizers were not offered new alternative venues for holding events. On June 5 last year, the Sverdlovsk District Court of Kostroma recognized the authorities’ refusals to approve events as legal, and on September 18, the Kostroma Regional Court rejected the organizers’ appeal. Let us recall that the complaint filed on Saturday became the second appeal by gay activists to the European Court against bans on public events in Kostroma. On September 16 last year, Nikolai Alekseev already sent a complaint to Strasbourg against Russia in connection with the ban on two gay pickets near children's libraries in Kostroma in March 2012 . In the near future, a complaint will also be filed with the European Court against the ban on gay pride and rallies against the law banning gay propaganda, planned by activists in Kostroma in June 2013. The legality of their bans was also confirmed by the courts of first and appellate instances.”