A criminal case was opened against the former director of Open Russia

Former executive director of Open Russia Andrei Pivovarov was removed from the plane at Pulkovo airport. The politician himself reported this on Twitter.

According to Pivovarov, he was going on vacation abroad, went through passport control at the airport, and then boarded an international flight.

Former Open Russia coordinator Tatyana Usmanova writes in her telegram channel: “Andrei Pivovarov is allegedly on the wanted list, this is what caused the arrest. The plane in which Andrei Pivovarov was actually turned around on the runway to remove him from the board.”

Pivovarov is not allowed to use the phone and the reason for the search is not explained. The lawyer of “Human Rights Postcard”, Elena Borodina, is visiting the detainee.

21:11 They are going to take Pivovarov to the Investigative Committee. He was supposed to fly from St. Petersburg to Warsaw.

21:20 The Internet publication SOTA reports that, according to data on the website of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Andrei Pivovarov is not wanted.

21:39 Coordinator of “Human Rights Postcard” Anastasia Burakova reports that lawyer Elena Borodina is not allowed to see Pivovarov. The FSB border department states that they did not remove the politician from the flight.

21:56 “Human Rights Postcards” writes that Pivovarov is being taken to the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee for St. Petersburg.

The reason for the detention was the case of the activities of an “undesirable organization” (Article 284.1 of the Criminal Code).

The publication "Protocol", citing its anonymous source in the investigative committee, writes that the case against Pivovarov was opened by the Krasnodar Investigative Committee.

23:03 His lawyer was allowed to see Andrei Pivovarov, writes ex-coordinator of Open Russia Tatyana Usmanova.

23:25 Pivovarov and his lawyer handed over a letter in which he reports that a case has been opened against him under the article on the activities of an “undesirable organization.” After the interrogation, he will be taken for a search, and then by plane to Krasnodar - the information is confirmed that it was the local Investigative Committee that opened the case.

July 1 06:40 A search was conducted in Pivovarov’s St. Petersburg apartment. His young son was at home, writes Anastasia Burakova, coordinator of Human Rights Postcard.

The search took place as part of a case involving the activities of an “undesirable organization”, in which Pivovarov is a suspect.

According to the Criminal Procedure Code (Article 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure), investigative actions can be carried out during the daytime, that is, from 06:00 to 22:00. Searches at night are allowed only in “urgent cases.” In this case, the search was urgent, since, according to the security forces, the suspect could hide at his place of registration, Pivovarov reported on Twitter.

After the search, the ex-director of Open Russia was taken to the temporary detention center of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of St. Petersburg. In the morning he should be taken by plane to Krasnodar to continue the investigative actions, writes Tatyana Usmanova.

10:45 A criminal case was opened against Andrei Pivovarov because of a post on Facebook with material from the United Democrats about fundraising. This was reported by the BBC Russian Service.

11:13 Former Open Russia coordinator Tatyana Usmanova reported that they are trying to hack her social networks. She reported this on her Telegram channel.

11:17 Andrey Pivovarov is at Pulkovo airport. They plan to take him to Krasnodar for a court hearing. Tatyana Usmanova reports about this.

12:33 The Oktyabrsky District Court of Krasnodar will determine the preventive measure for Andrey Pivovarov on July 2.

15:35 Andrei Pivovarov was taken to Krasnodar. In the near future he will go for questioning to the Investigative Committee. Anastasia Burakova, lawyer for Human Rights Postcards, told Yug. MBH Media".

16:16 The Investigative Committee stated that Pivovarov tried to leave Russia “to hide from the investigation.” RBC reports this.

17:38 Pivovarov was taken in handcuffs to the Krasnodar Investigative Committee, as reported on his Telegram channel.

19:30 The investigation will send a petition to the court to select a preventive measure for Pivovarov in the form of detention, reports Advocate Postcard lawyer Alexander Valyavsky.

The title has been changed due to the emergence of information about a criminal case.

• On May 27, the Open Russia Council announced the liquidation of the organization in order to protect its supporters from criminal prosecution. The decision is related to the amendments being prepared by the State Duma to the law on “undesirable organizations” (Article 284.1 of the Criminal Code).
• In April 2017, the Prosecutor General's Office recognized as undesirable several organizations associated with Mikhail Khodorkovsky, registered in the UK and the USA. Despite the fact that the Russian movement was not banned, its participants continued to be persecuted. On March 30, 2019, Open Russia announced its self-liquidation for security reasons.