Team-29 and OVD-Info demand that government agencies disclose information about arrests at protests

On April 20, Team-29 and OVD-Info appealed to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Supreme Court with a demand to promptly publish information about arrests at protests, subsequent trials, and the whereabouts of those arrested after the trial. The full text of the appeal can be read here .

The basis for the appeal was the restriction of information about mass arrests at public events in January-February 2021. According to OVD-Info, more than 11 thousand people were detained at several all-Russian protest rallies.

The authorities responsible for the detentions and administrative prosecution of protest participants not only did not promptly provide information, but also deliberately limited its dissemination: they detained journalists, did not allow detainees to speak on the phone, and did not allow lawyers into police departments .

Under the information blockade, psychological pressure and bullying were applied to the detainees, their loved ones could not provide food, water and necessary medicines to police departments and special detention centers, the right to protection in police departments and courts was violated, and society as a whole was deprived of critical information about the scale of political detentions.

Team-29 and OVD-Info demand that the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Internal Affairs not interfere with the dissemination of information about arrests at rallies and promptly publish data on the number of detainees during public events, their presence in police departments and special detention centers, consideration of cases of administrative offenses in courts.

On May 21, the Ministry of Internal Affairs responded to an appeal from OVD-Info and Team-29, in which they explained the refusal to disclose the number of people detained at rallies by the requirements of the law on personal data. “Information about detained persons <...> is personal data and cannot be transferred to third parties,” the Ministry of Internal Affairs answered us. The Ministry of Internal Affairs explained the introduction of the “Fortress” plans by “ensuring the security and anti-terrorism protection of buildings.” The full response from the Ministry of Internal Affairs can be found here .

• In February 2021, the court sent Alexei Navalny, who returned to Russia after poisoning, to a colony in the Yves Rocher case. There his condition worsened , but the administration refused to comply with his demands for treatment, and he went on a hunger strike. After a sharp deterioration in Navalny’s health, Leonid Volkov and Ivan Zhdanov announced another all-Russian action.