Protective mechanism

Pavel Nikulin recalls how he defended his friend in one of the Moscow ships

We help Russia sitting to help

We were captured by the "Okhotny Row." Me, Oleg, Lesha and Vanya. We participated in some political flash mob in March eight years ago. There was spring, we walked at the Moscow Hotel under construction with plastic bags, on which it was written that the election was a farce. We boasted to the journalists that we did not vote in the elections, and waved with empty ballots. Then the journalists left, and riot police grabbed us.

There were much more police officers (then they were still police officers) than us, and everyone, apparently, was responsible and wanted to personally participate in the detention. Therefore, each of us accounted for four policemen. They grabbed us by the hands and feet and carried us towards the grooves with the barred windows. It seems that some major who held me by the left leg commanded the detention.

Having stepped on the spring fragile ice, the major slipped, let go of my leg and fell his face into the slush. For this, on the bus, I counted my forehead with my forehead, riot police hanging under the ceiling. Then Oleg was put on me, on Oleg - Lesha, on Lesha - Vanya. The motor wound up, Pazik left for the police department.

Then everything is standard - three hours of ridiculous questioning, protocols and the requirement to appear in court on the first call. The bell rang a week later. The first meeting was scheduled for April.

We were preparing for him very responsibly. They studied the sites of human rights movements, the constitution, blogs of familiar human rights defenders and even found out that it is possible to defend a person in court without being a lawyer. We found ready -made applications and detailed instructions on how to submit them. It was small - to distribute the roles. They decided that I would defend Oleg, Oleg - Vanya, Vanya - Lesha, and Lesha - me. Having hit hands, we went to make a power of attorney.

And then the court began. And the meetings were organized so that we could not protect each other - we were divorced in time, and there were not enough discipline and organization. As a result, a public defender (the so -called a person who protects a person in court without a lawyer’s status) was only Oleg. And it was me.

The times were then vegetarian, but the judicial system has already become part of a repressive machine

From the very beginning, I attacked a judge - a middle -aged woman, medium height, with medium -length hair - with a pile of petitions. I menacingly demanded to transfer the court at Oleg's place of residence. The judge refused, I immediately declared her a challenge. She refused to be discharged - I proudly declared a new one. She refused to maintain a protocol - again a challenge. She refused to call our witnesses - again a divert. The process was like an aggressive boxing fight. It even seemed to me that I was winning.

But suddenly something went wrong. Either the forms for the petitions ended, or Oleg and I were tired of fighting the judge. Omonovites came to court, one of them (it seems that the same major) told how maliciously Oleg violated the law. The judge listened, closed the meeting and after half an hour she fined Oleg for 500 rubles.

A reason for joy, in fact. I, Lesha and Vanya were later fined a thousand. Times were then vegetarian, but the judicial system has already become part of a repressive machine. I don’t know if activists were taught to public defenders, but then this knowledge would help me a lot. Perhaps I would save a thousand rubles, and Oleg - 500. Who knows?

Now you can learn to defend the rights of your friends in court at the School of Public Defender. Moreover, this knowledge will come in handy not only at the trifling process for an administrative offense, but also during a criminal proceedings. In the status of a public defender, a person has access to the accused of prison, has the same procedural rights as a lawyer. The knowledge that is necessary for effective work can receive a public defender completely free. But specialists who can give this knowledge, you need to pay salaries. The school of public defender exists exclusively on donations. You can help the project of free legal education by transferring one hundred, two hundred or five hundred rubles in the form below. Money will go to the work of the school and teaching the legal literacy of anyone who wants to help themselves or their loved ones to defend the truth in court.