A court in Moscow fined a participant in a single picket in support of Yulia Tsvetkova 15 thousand • OVD-Info • RIMA

A court in Moscow fined a participant in a single picket in support of Yulia Tsvetkova 15 thousand

Judge Marina Syrova of the Khamovnichesky District Court of Moscow fined Anastasia Maksimova, a participant in a single picket in support of LGBT activist and feminist Yulia Tsvetkova, 15 thousand rubles. Ekaterina Ryzhova, a lawyer from OVD-Info, who defended Maksimova in court, spoke about this.

The protest participant was found guilty of violating the rules of participation in a public event (Part 5 of Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code). The judge considered that Maksimova participated in “a set of acts of single picketing,” that is, in a mass uncoordinated action.

The defense insisted that Maksimova stood in a single picket. Moreover, the protest participant managed to stand with the poster, according to Ryzhova, for only a few seconds.

The judge refused to call the police who detained Maksimova for questioning. The judge also did not want to attach the video recording of the arrest to the case materials: allegedly the court could not establish the origin of the recording.

At the court hearing, a witness to Maksimova’s detention was questioned, and she confirmed the defense’s position. However, the judge, relying on materials compiled by the police, did not agree with the defense’s position.

Anastasia Maksimova was detained on June 27 during pickets at the monument to Nadezhda Krupskaya in Moscow. The action was held in support of artist and feminist Yulia Tsvetkova. Because of the pickets, the police detained 43 people.
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”.
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.