Translated material
A court in St. Petersburg fined a supporter of the “perpetual protest” under the article of disobedience to police officers
In St. Petersburg, the judge of the Vasileostrovskiy District Court, Daria Ten, fined a supporter of the “indefinite protest” Yevgeny Musin 700 rubles under the article on failure to comply with the lawful demand of a police officer (part 1 of article 19.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). Musin himself reported this to OVD-Info.
According to the police and the court, on April 24, Musin refused, at the request of the policeman, to stop the solo picket: allegedly holding any actions is prohibited due to the coronavirus. At the same time, back in 2018, the Supreme Court pointed out the inadmissibility of holding action participants liable under the article on failure to comply with the demands of the police.
“Judge Ten did not give me time either for explanations or for the last word, and also [did not give] the defender a detailed argument for his position. After the announcement of the petitions, unexpectedly for us, without leaving to make a decision, the judge began to announce her decision - guilty, a fine of 700 rubles. We will appeal,” Musin said.
According to Musin, the judge allowed only one of the two defenders of the “indefinite protest” supporter to attend the hearing. She refused to allow the second defender: according to the judge, the presence of the second defender is hindered by “epidemiological restrictions,” but she did not explain which ones.
The defense filed a challenge to the court due to the non-admission of the defense counsel, and also asked to postpone the meeting to a later date, when both defense lawyers could be present at the meeting, but the court refused these requests.
At the same time, the court attached photographs to the case file, which, according to Musin, confirm the change in the protocol after it was drawn up. The police did not notify either Musin or his defenders of the change, which is a gross violation. However, the court did not take this into account.
- A protocol under the article on non-fulfillment of the demand of a policeman (part 1 of article 19.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses) against Musin was drawn up after his arrest on April 24, when he held a solo picket. On one of his posters was the slogan: “They got double standards and lawlessness!!! And one more thing: freedom for political prisoners.” On May 1, the police detained him and brought him to court to consider this case, but the meeting was postponed to May 12. Prior to that, the police came to Musin's house for six days in a row.
- Yevgeny Musin is regularly detained due to his participation in solo pickets and other actions. In October, Yevgeny Musin was detained at a picket in support of Konstantin Kotov, who had been sentenced under Article 212.1 of the Russian Criminal Code to four years in a penal colony. On November 17, 2019, he was detained twice in one day due to single pickets near Gostiny Dvor. And at the end of January 2020, he was detained due to a single picket against changing the Constitution.