The court in St. Petersburg dismissed the cases of participants in single pickets detained under the KUSP

The Kuibyshevsky District Court of St. Petersburg dismissed the cases against Olga Smirnova and Ilya Tkachenko, who were detained on March 18 during single pickets. Human rights activist Dinar Idrisov, who represented Smirnova’s interests, reported this to OVD-Info.

Activists were detained during a rally in support of the head of the Chechen “Memorial” Oyub Titiev. Police officers explained the arrests by the fact that complaints about pickets from unknown citizens were registered in the Crime Reporting Book (KUSP).

In relation to Tkachenko and Smirnova, protocols were drawn up regarding disobedience to the demands of a police officer (Article 19.3 of the Administrative Code). According to Idrisov, the court’s decision may become a reason to end the practice of detention under the KUSP.

• Recently, the St. Petersburg police have regularly detained activists of various movements under the KUSP. OVD-Info figured out what the new tactics of law enforcement officers are connected with.