A court in Samara dismissed an administrative case against a participant in a single picket

Elena Kharelina, judge of the Oktyabrsky District Court of Samara, dismissed an administrative case under the article on violation of the rules for organizing an action (part 1 of article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses) against Natalya Baranova, a participant in a solo picket on July 31 for freedom of assembly in Russia. This was reported to OVD-Info by the press service of the Apology of Protest.

The case was dismissed due to lack of corpus delicti. In court, Baranova was defended by lawyer Stanislav Seleznev, who collaborates with the Apology of Protest.

On August 14, the court returned the materials of Baranova's case to the police to correct the shortcomings: the policeman did not put his signature in the protocol on an administrative offense.

Then the judge gave law enforcement officers three days to correct the protocol, but the police handed over the materials to the court only on August 31.

• The report on Natalia Baranova was drawn up on August 13. Baranova has been going on solo pickets on the 31st for several years, recalling the 31st article of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to peaceful assembly. The police had not prevented her before. This time they explained the drafting of the protocol by the fact that public events were banned in the Samara region due to the coronavirus epidemic.