The ECHR communicated a complaint against the article on “simultaneous mass presence”

The European Court of Human Rights communicated the complaint of three Russian citizens against detention on charges of “arranging a mass simultaneous stay and (or) movement of citizens in public places that caused a violation of public order” (Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). This was reported on the website of the ECHR, the message is dated July 12.

The applicants are Valentina Lapshina, a resident of the Moscow Region town of Fryazevo, and Muscovites Svetlana Mishina and Sergei Vyatkin.

Lapshina, as follows from a posting on the ECtHR website, complained about the arrests on December 4 and 5, when she offered passers-by to take pictures with pigeons. Mishina was detained on December 23, 2015, when she offered passers-by a ride on a pony and allegedly blocked access to the metro station in this way.

Musician, saw performer Sergei Vyatkin was detained for playing on the street on February 10, 2016. On February 25, he was fined ten thousand rubles, on July 26 the Moscow City Court recognized the fine as legal . The decisions regarding Lapshina and Mishina were also recognized as legal in the appellate courts, according to the ECtHR website.

The court, in particular, asked the Russian government whether the police had reason to suspect the detainees of "organizing" the mass stay of citizens and thereby preventing access to buildings or metro stations.

Article 20.2.2 was included in the Code of Administrative Offenses in June 2012 as part of the restriction of the right of Russian residents to freedom of assembly. The article was perceived as a response to protest walks and "occupiers" that were popular at that time, which did not fall under the definition of rallies and processions in federal law. However, according to established practice, street musicians, artists and other people who earn money from outdoor entertainment are most persecuted under this article.