For the first time, a person involved in a criminal case under the “Dada” article was sent into custody

Judge Elena Abramova of the Presnensky District Court of Moscow sent civil activist Konstantin Kotov, accused of repeated violations of the procedure for holding public events (Article 212.1 of the Criminal Code), to a pre-trial detention center for two months. Legal assistance coordinator Alla Frolova reports this from the courtroom.

OVD-InfoThis is the first time that a court has placed a defendant in custody under the “Dada” article. The activist is defended by lawyer Maria Eismont.

OVD-Info “According to the investigation, Kotov can escape and tried to escape. The prosecution did not provide evidence of this. The materials of the criminal case so far contain only Kotov’s administrative cases, nothing else. He himself stated at the trial that he had the right to go out peacefully and without weapons. He did not deny his participation in the protests, but emphasized that it was his constitutional right to come out in support of journalists, activists and everyone else,” said Alla Frolova. She noted that many people came to support the activist at the court hearing.

• Kotov on the evening of August 12, a few hours after he was released from the police department on an obligation to appear to draw up an administrative report. On the night of August 12-13, he was charged with repeated violations of the procedure for holding public events (Article 212.1 of the Criminal Code). detained and charged - Kotov’s criminal case is already the third case under Art. 212.1 of the Criminal Code, initiated in 2019. The first person accused under this article in 2019 was a Kolomna activist, the second was an Arkhangelsk activist, whose case is already underway. Before the initiation of the case against Vyacheslav Egorov, Article 212.1 had not been used for more than 3.5 years. Vyacheslav Egorov Andrey Borovikov is being considered in court - Public attention was drawn to Article 212.1 of the Criminal Code after the only person convicted under this article, Moscow activist Ildar Dadin, reported on the torture he suffered in the colony. Dadin’s case was dismissed, he was released, and before that the Constitutional Court applied the article only in cases where a person’s actions pose a public danger. recommended