The court in Engels returned to the police the report drawn up against a picket participant for wearing a mask

The Engels District Court of the Saratov Region returned to the police a protocol drawn up against a picket participant Alexei Pavlov for wearing a mask during the rally, "for making a decision within the competence." Information about this was found by the publication "Version-Saratov" in the file of the court.

On August 15, Aleksey Pavlov went out in a solo picket with a banner “President, where are the promised 25 million jobs?”, referring to the jobs that Vladimir Putin ordered to be created after taking office in 2012. During the picket, the activist wore a medical mask, which, according to the police, violated the rules for participation in a public event (part 5 of article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). Pavlov, according to police, used a mask to hide his face from passers-by.

Judge Sergey Nuzhdin noted that the police did not indicate circumstances indicating that Pavlov used the mask for the purpose of disguise, and not to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Wearing a mask in public places, the court ruling says, complies with the requirements of the Saratov Region Government Decree “On the introduction of restrictive measures in connection with the threat of the spread of coronavirus infection (2019-nCoV)”.

The court also indicated that the police sent a similar protocol against Pavlov at the end of August. Then the court returned the case “to eliminate existing shortcomings,” but the police, without changing anything, again sent the protocol to the court.