“Moral and material impact on participants.” “Apology of Protest” called for writing off fines for single pickets

The human rights project “Apology of Protest” presented a report “Disinfection of Protest” about protests in Russia during the coronavirus epidemic.

According to the authors of the study, from the beginning of spring to August, at least 775 pickets took place in Russian cities. At the end of March, all public events were banned in 45 Russian regions. But the “Apology of Protest” emphasized that meetings, rallies, and pickets can be held during a high-alert regime.

At the end of May, an increase in protest activity began, which actually coincided with the first stages of ending the self-isolation regime. However, it was at this moment that the protests began to be viewed as a threat to the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population, the authors of the report noted.

Then the picket participants were charged with violating Article 20.6.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (Failure to comply with the rules of conduct during the introduction of a high alert regime). The authors of the report came to the conclusion that such protocols have become a convenient replacement or addition to Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (Violation of the rules of holding an action), as well as a reason for detentions and persecution of activists.

Even with social distancing and the use of personal protective equipment, protocols are still drawn up for picket participants, the authors of the report emphasize.

“The current practice in Russia of using quarantine articles to replace or supplement Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation in relation to such a safe form of expression as a single picket, indicates that certain measures and restrictions have nothing to do with the real fight against the spread of the disease, but have the goal is to cool down and neutralize peaceful civil protest, moral and material impact on participants in single pickets,” the authors of the report believe.

The sanction under Article 20.6.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides for a warning or a fine in the amount of one thousand to 30 thousand rubles. For activists for single pickets or participation in protests, the average fine under the “coronavirus article” was 7,900 rubles, the authors of the study calculated.

“Apology of Protest” calls for the lifting of restrictions on holding meetings, stopping drawing up protocols under Articles 20.2 and 20.6.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation for single picketing, and eliminating fines for participation in a single picket.

“Otherwise, single pickets can be considered a form of protest outlawed by the police and courts,” the report says.