The Ministry of Internal Affairs maintains an internal database on protest participants

At the meeting in the case of Konstantin Kotov, the policeman said that the Ministry of Internal Affairs has an internal “list of 35”, which includes all those brought to justice for violating the rules of participation in public events (Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code). Mediazona wrote about this.

Kotov’s lawyer Maria Eismont asked police major Kudryashov at the hearing why he, as a district police officer, was obliged to conduct conversations with Kotov because he was on the “list of 35.” Kotov, according to the case materials, was in a certain accounting category - “list 35”.

The law enforcement officer explained that the Ministry of Internal Affairs has several professional accounting databases. One of them is the “list of 35,” which reflects all those brought to justice under Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offences. According to Kudryashov, these are individuals who opposed the management order. “Mediazona” pointed out that at the same time, the offense covered by Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses does not infringe on the order of management, but on public order and public safety.

• Konstantin Kotov is accused under the “Dadin article” of repeated violations of the law on rallies (Article 212.1 of the Criminal Code). On August 12, Kotov was detained at his home. He was taken to the Moscow department of the Investigative Committee, where he was charged. Just two days after the arrest, investigators announced the end of the investigation. Then the court decided to give the defense three days to familiarize itself with the case materials.
• Kotov’s criminal case is already the third case under Art. 212.1 of the Criminal Code, initiated in 2019. The first accused under this article in 2019 was Kolomna activist Vyacheslav Egorov , the second was Arkhangelsk activist Andrei Borovikov , whose case is already being considered in court. Before the initiation of the case against Vyacheslav Egorov, Article 212.1 had not been used for more than three and a half years.