In Nizhny Novgorod, Italian human rights defenders were fined for "violation of the regime of stay"

In Nizhny Novgorod, the migration service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs fined two thousand rubles for a "violation of the regime of staying in the country" of five members of the Italian human rights organization "Antigon". This was reported by 7x7 with reference to the chairman of the public organization "Man and Law" Irina Protasov.

According to Koza.press, the Italians were charged with part 2 of Article 18.8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (the mismatch of the stated goals of entry into Russia with actual activities provides for a fine of two to five thousand rubles with possible administrative expulsion from the country). They spent more than six hours in the police. At the same time, the head of the Committee on Prevention of torture, Igor Kalyapin, who arrived at the police, noted, during the first five hours of detention, law enforcement officers interviewed only three of the five detainees. A survey without the consent of the Italians was shot on a video by a certain person who refused to appear, who called himself an experience.

Human rights activists were detained on Monday at a meeting with members of the Nizhny Novgorod PMC. Members of Antigons came to the city from Yoshkar-Ola to meet with local colleagues. Next to the Italians were human rights activists from Mari El, including Protasov, there were no complaints about the police.

As Newsnn.ru specified , the police interrupted the meeting with the PMC because of the call of a certain resident of Kazan, who allegedly knew about the visit of Italians to the city and asked to verify the legality from the trip. According to Protasova, representatives of Antigons were accused of allegedly conducting professional activities in Russia, although they entered the country on a tourist visa.

“Departure to Nizhny Novgorod was planned, he was listed in the Antigon stay program,” Protasova told. “There was no deviation from the program. We showed the city to colleagues, held planned meetings in the Committee on Prevention of torture and with members of the local public observation commission.”

After the release from the police, members of Antigons returned to Yoshkar-Ola.

The Russian authorities regularly accuse of violation of the visa regime of foreigners who will hold meetings with public activists. So, in April last year, the Sormovsky District Court of Nizhny Novgorod fined 4 thousand rubles of British journalist Arthur House and ordered him to leave Russia.

The deputy chief editor of the British Internet publication The Calvert Journal and the chief editor of The Junket House online magazine came to Russia as part of the project of the Calvert 22 Foundation charity foundation. His founders are ex -Minister of Finance Alexei Kudrin and the philanthropist Nonna Materkov living in London. The journalist gave free lectures for Kazan and Nizhny Novgorod journalists, designers and entrepreneurs on how to make a regional creative project in demand abroad.

After the master class in online journalism, the FMS employees approached House and asked to go to the department. “There they made a protocol on violation of migration legislation, which was immediately sent to the court,” said lawyer Dmitry Kuzovkov. The reason for the detention of the journalist was that he entered Russia on a working visa, which does not involve lectures, seminars and other educational activities.