Participants of “Strategy-15” were detained again in St. Petersburg

In St. Petersburg, the participants of the "Strategy-15" Olga Smirnova, Dmitry Negodin and Vladimir Shipitsyn were detained again - the activists were already detained the day before, on March 25, because of the January action of the movement. This was reported to OVD-Info by Smirnova.

Now the detainees were again taken to police department No. 29. The activist suggested that they were all being held because of the same action, for which a protocol had already been drawn up under part 2 of article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (organization of an uncoordinated mass event).

Smirnova stressed that the police have already issued the detainees with release pending trial, but they still do not release them.

On March 25, Shipitsyn was detained when he stood up with a picket in support of Belarusian protesters on Malaya Sadovaya Street. Smirnova and Negodin were detained a little later, they also wanted to take part in single pickets on the occasion of Freedom Day (Independence Day) in the Republic of Belarus.

The activists were left overnight at police station No. 29. Then they were taken to the Moscow District Court, but the meeting did not take place for unknown reasons.

March 27, 12:50 Moscow District Court of St. Petersburg again refused to consider cases under the article on holding an uncoordinated event (part 2 of article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses) because of the action on January 15 and returned the protocols to the police. Olga Smirnova, Vlad Shipitsyn and Dmitry Negodin left the court and reported this to OVD-Info.

At the police station, the detainees were assisted by lawyer Yevgeny Kheifets and public defender Anton Grachev, and in court by human rights activist Maria Malysheva.

• "Strategy-15" is a monthly action of civil activists from the Leningrad region and St. Petersburg, who hold one-man pickets against amendments to the Constitution.