Translated material
The court fined a participant in a single picket with reproductions of paintings by Gustave Courbet
Judge Marina Syrova of the Khamovnichesky District Court of Moscow fined Ksenia Samarina, a participant in a single picket in support of LGBT activist and feminist Yulia Tsvetkova, 15 thousand. This was reported by Samarina’s lawyer from OVD-Info, Olga Karlova.
The picket participant was found guilty under the article on violating the rules of behavior in an emergency situation or the threat of one (Article 20.6.1 of the Administrative Code). The judge, according to the lawyer, explained the size of the fine by saying that she was assigning it to a “young girl.”
At the court hearing, Karlova explained to the court that an ordinary citizen of Russia could not know that with his picket he could violate the rules of conduct in case of an emergency or the threat of one, because two mass events organized by the authorities had recently taken place: the Victory Parade and voting on amendments to the Constitution. The judge, in response to the mention of the parade, said: “Well, that’s a parade.”
“I asked the judge to be guided by reason and proceed from the fact that Ksenia did not pose any danger to the public, she did not pose any threat to the life and health of others, and she did not block traffic. And she has the right to express her opinion in accordance with the Basic Law of the country (Constitution - OVD-Info ) in which she lives. This law cannot be changed by secondary legislation,” Karlova said in a conversation with OVD-Info.
Ksenia Samarina was detained on July 3 near the Kropotkinskaya metro station. The reason for her arrest was her participation in a single picket with a poster containing reproductions of Gustave Courbet’s paintings “The Origin of the World” and “The Sleepers.” The police threatened Samarina with filing charges for showing pornography.
- On June 9, Yulia Tsvetkova was officially charged with distributing pornography. The case was opened due to the publication of pictures in the public page “Vagina Monologues”.
- At the end of March 2020, Tsvetkova was given a warning about “the inadmissibility of abuse of the right to appeal” due to her complaints to the police about harassment, insults and slander against her from LGBT opponent Timur Bulatov.
- Before the criminal prosecution, Tsvetkova led the MERAK youth theater studio, which had to be closed because the activist was constantly called to the E Center due to anonymous complaints about the promotion of non-traditional sexual relationships. They tried to force a minor former actor of the MERAK theater to become a victim in a criminal case against the activist.