Help for the “palace prisoners”. 17 lawyers from OVD-Info defend winter protest participants

At the end of June 2021, 26 lawyers from OVD-Info participated in criminal cases of 29 people who became accused after the winter protests. Read about how the repression is unfolding in our material: How the “palace case” is developing: 134 defendants, 38 convicted .

We act within the framework of the position and interests of the client

“There has never been persecution of this scale for participation in protests in Russia. Now the authorities want to punish more people. We still don’t know about many of those who are being persecuted. I’m afraid that even in Moscow there are about ten people in pre-trial detention centers about whom we know nothing. Law enforcement officers continue to review video recordings and look for new suspects,” says Alla Frolova, coordinator of legal assistance at OVD-Info.

Frolova does not deny that a number of actions of some protesters may fall under the articles of the Criminal Code, but this was provoked by the fact that people were infringed on the constitutional right to express peaceful protest: in no region in late January and early February did the authorities try to coordinate demonstrations in support of Alexei Navalny. At the same time, there are no criminal cases regarding the unjustified use of violence against demonstrators by employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Guard.

“We are faced with the fact that defendants are told: refuse the OVD-Info lawyer, and everything will go much better. Because our lawyer will dig in and figure it out. And the point is not whether a person admits guilt: many whom we defend admit guilt and choose a special procedure . And we always act within the framework of the position and interests of the client,” emphasizes Alla Frolova.

More than ten criminal cases in the wake of the winter protests have already resulted in convictions, and often the “quieter” the trial is, the less punishment the defendant receives. Whether to hire a “political” lawyer or whether to admit guilt in a criminal case is always the choice of a person who risks going to a colony. But, despite the possible bias of the court, lawyers from OVD-Info qualitatively represent the interests of the person being persecuted in court and support him.

“Currently, seventeen lawyers from OVD-Info are working on the “palace case” - this is unprecedented for us. Lawyers from OVD-Info are experienced in such criminal cases. They will not harm the defendant. Supporting the defendant’s position and human rights values, we will guide our clients from start to finish, visit pre-trial detention centers and colonies, and prepare appeals against the verdict,” says Alla Frolova.

At the time of publication, OVD-Info represents the interests of 18 defendants in the “palace case”:

• Nikolay Lyaskin, Moscow, part 1 art. 236 of the Criminal Code using Part 4 of Art. 33 of the Criminal Code , prohibition of certain actions;
• Konstantin Yankauskas, Moscow, part 1 art. 236 of the Criminal Code using Part 4 of Art. 33 of the Criminal Code, under house arrest ( after the publication of the material, the court replaced house arrest with a ban on certain actions );
• Dmitry Baranovsky, Moscow, part 1 art. 236 of the Criminal Code using Part 4 of Art. 33 of the Criminal Code, under house arrest;
• Sergey Pavlyutkin, Lipetsk, part 1 art. 318 of the Criminal Code , under house arrest;
• Roman Pichuzhin, Moscow, part 1 art. 318 of the Criminal Code, under arrest in a pre-trial detention center;
• Alexander Olekhnovich, Vladivostok, part 1 art. 318 of the Criminal Code, under arrest in a pre-trial detention center;
• Ilya Pershin, St. Petersburg, part 1 art. 318 of the Criminal Code, under arrest in a pre-trial detention center;
• Eldar Garipov, St. Petersburg, part 1 art. 318 of the Criminal Code, under arrest in a pre-trial detention center;
• Olga Bendas, Moscow, part 1 art. 318 of the Criminal Code, under arrest in a pre-trial detention center;
• Alexander Federyakov, Moscow, part 1 art. 318 of the Criminal Code, under arrest in a pre-trial detention center;
• Valery Evsin, Moscow, part 1 art. 318 of the Criminal Code, sentenced to two years in a general regime colony;
• Andrey Lomov, St. Petersburg, part 1 art. 318 of the Criminal Code, sentenced to two years probation;
• Evgeny Tugankov, St. Petersburg, part 1 art. 318 of the Criminal Code, sentenced to a year in a penal colony;
• Yana Drobnokhod, Novosibirsk, st. 212.1 of the Criminal Code , the case was dismissed, a court fine was imposed;
• Alexey Vorsin, Khabarovsk, st. 212.1 of the Criminal Code, under house arrest;
• Gleb Maryasov, Moscow, part 1 art. 267 of the Criminal Code , prohibition of certain actions;
• Alexey Gasyuk, Vladivostok, part 1 art. 267 Criminal Code, suspect;
• Oleg Klimchuk, senior 319 of the Criminal Code , under recognizance not to leave.

Read more about those persecuted in the “palace case” in our guide .

OVD-Info lawyers about the “palace case”

Lawyer Maxim Pashkov, working with OVD-Info, defends 32-year-old taxi driver Valery Evsin, a participant in the January 23 rally in Moscow. On the day the text was published, Evsin was sentenced to two years in a general regime colony.

“Evsin will have a substantive meeting on April 7, most likely the case will end on that day. He admitted guilt, chose a special procedure, and the video clearly shows how Evsin beats a National Guard member with a metal fence. There is no point in denying the obvious. The Russian Guard member accepted the apology and has no complaints. Initially, Evsin had three episodes, two bounced. Based on one entry, it is not clear whether Evsin touched the National Guard with his hand: the National Guard himself cannot really say anything, Evsin says that he did not touch. The second episode is about the same,” says Pashkov.