"There is no money and there is nothing to pay"

The court fined the next Russian NPO for the refusal to voluntarily become a "foreign agent"

The Russian authorities continue to exert pressure on independent NGOs. In St. Petersburg, on Tuesday, the magistrate of the judicial section No. 206 Oleg Kamaldinov fined the Institute of Regional Press and its director Anna Sharogradskaya for 400 thousand rubles for "maintaining political activities" without registration as a "foreign agent", on the same day it became known that the Moscow School of Civil Education was entered in the register of "foreign agents".

The intrigue of an almost seven-hour court hearing, which took place on December 9 in a court on Kazan Street in St. Petersburg, can be briefly as follows. On October 15, an official of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for St. Petersburg was drawn up a protocol against the Institute of Regional Press on Administrative Violation under Article 19.34 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. This article, recognized partially not relevant to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, by the Decree of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of April 8, entails the imposition of an administrative fine on officials in the amount of from 100 thousand to 300 thousand rubles; For legal entities - from 300 thousand to 500 thousand rubles for refusing to register as a "foreign agent".

According to the lawyer Anna Sharogradskaya Ivan Pavlov , the document was compiled with numerous gross procedural disorders. For example, during his preparation, the director of the Institute of Regional Press, as required by the law, was not explained its rights and obligations. Anna Sharogradskaya was called to draw up a protocol on an administrative offense under another article of the Code of Administrative Offenses, number 19.4 , which involves other, much less penalty: warning or imposing an administrative fine on citizens in the amount of five hundred to one thousand rubles; for officials - from two thousand to four thousand rubles. However, the judge issued the punishment precisely under Article 19.34 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation.

Oleg Kamaldinov officially explained the transformation of one article into another judge by the "mistake of the printer of the local department of the Ministry of Justice." “It seems that the rabies of the printers becomes an epidemic of a federal scale,” journalists who watched the process joined the progress.

The lawyer Ivan Pavlov also had other objections: the expiration of the statute of limitations for bringing the institution of regional press to administrative responsibility and the absence of an administrative offense in general, since the activities of the institution of regional press were not aimed at changing state policy. However, the result of the meeting is as follows: the director of the Institute Anna Sharogradskaya was appointed an administrative fine of 400 thousand rubles.

Lawyer Ivan Pavlov intends to protest the court verdict:

- Today we heard only the effective part of the decision, the motivating part of the decision, as the court announced, will be ready within the next three days. I think that this week we will receive a resolution in full. We will get acquainted with him and, of course, we will dispute him. The next instance is the Kuibyshevsky District Court of St. Petersburg, where the corresponding complaint will be sent with the submission of an analysis of the violations that we revealed during the current court session.

- Ivan, do you see a political component here? After all, the institution of the regional press is a “foreign agent”, as is the Freedom Freedom Fibrait Freedom that you head.

- I would not be surprised if this whole register of "foreign agents" would be scored by organizations with which I have very good and friendly relations. Neighborhood with organizations such as the Institute of Regional Press, Honor. It is honored to be in such an environment as the institution of regional press as the “public verdict”, as the Association of “Agora”, as other respected organizations that are engaged in human rights activities and are now faced with monstrous pressure in the form of all sorts of checks from the prosecutor's office, from the Ministry of Justice. But, as we saw today, the problem is, including material. 400 thousand rubles are the amount that can bankrupt not only a small, but also a fairly large organization, since the budgets of all NPOs are quite tight and do not provide for opportunities to pay fines, penalties and some other expenses.

Director of the Institute of Regional Press Anna Sharogradskaya does not lose optimism:

I believe, at least in good lawyers. But there are few good judges

- The impressions are expected, the main thing is not very excited: the presence of logic, justice as such, I did not feel in the courtroom. As for the verdict, I am a little funny, because there is no money and there is nothing to pay. And they probably know about it. I do not know how to develop further, but to correct the position of a shaken ruble at the expense of an NPO, in my opinion, is not a very reasonable undertaking. Obviously, none of us will pay that kind of money. But I still believe that our business is right, and we will win, sorry for the stamp. I believe, at least in good lawyers. But there are few good judges.

During the court hearing, it became known that the employees of the Center for Combating Extremism, the Center for "E", the Main Directorate of the VD in St. Petersburg were wanted by the director of the regional press institute Anna Sharogradskaya in order to invite her to a conversation. Perhaps we are talking about the detention of Sharogradskaya at Pulkovo Airport , during which she seized a computer and flash cards, containing, according to the employees of the Center "E", "extremist materials".

The day before, the notification of the “foreign agents” was received in the register at the Moscow Civil Education School. Its leaders also said that they intend to dispute this decision of the Ministry of Justice in court.