The court in St. Petersburg declared illegal the refusal of a lawyer to enter the department to see those detained at the protest

The Smolninsky District Court of St. Petersburg, in a decision dated June 1, declared it illegal to prevent lawyer Mark Alekseev from visiting his clients in the department, who were detained on April 17, 2019 during the Day of Silence rally. This is reported by the Federal Chamber of Lawyers of Russia.

“Thus, a person detained in connection with the commission of an administrative offense has the right to the assistance of a lawyer, whose powers must be confirmed by a warrant for the execution of an assignment issued by the relevant legal education. The law does not provide for the possibility of requesting a written agreement with a lawyer who has come to defend detained administrative plaintiffs in connection with an administrative offense,” the court points out.

The decision was made on the basis of a lawsuit to invalidate the actions of the police, which were filed by Alekseev's clients.

• On April 17, 2019, were detained 12 participants in the “Day of Silence” action dedicated to hushing up the problems of the LGBT community in St. Petersburg. Lawyer Mark Alekseev went to the detainees to the department, the police did not let him see his clients, although he had all the documents with him. In the absence of a lawyer, protocols were drawn up on the detainees, some of them were left overnight.