Translated material
Human rights activist Marina Litvinovich was fined for participating in a meeting with Valery Rashkin
The Savyolovsky District Court of Moscow fined human rights activist Marina Litvinovich under the article on violation of rally legislation (Part 5 of Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code) due to her participation in a meeting of ex-State Duma deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Valery Rashkin with voters in September 2021. Litvinovich reports this in his telegram channel. Her interests were represented by lawyers from OVD-Info Yulia Tregubova and Yulia Evdokimova.
Rashkin was still a deputy at that time, but the court considered his meeting with voters an uncoordinated rally and imposed a fine on Litvinovich of 20 thousand rubles.
Lawyer Yulia Tregubova said that the case file included clippings from Kommersant publications and two videos: “The first shows someone’s child stretching his legs out of a stroller, the second shows a meeting of voters with Rashkin, where he gave the floor to Litvinovich. The court did not accept the arguments that the evidence does not in any way support the offense.”
On July 8, the same court fined Litvinovich under the article on the demonstration of extremist symbols (Part 1 of Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code) due to the fact that she allegedly uttered the phrase “Smart voting” several times during a speech at a meeting of Communist Party deputies with voters. A day earlier, the Moscow City Court upheld the decision of the Khamovnichesky District Court to fine Litvinovich 30 thousand rubles under the article on organizing a public event without filing a notification (Part 2 of Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code) because of the rally on February 24.
- In May 2022, the State Duma prematurely terminated the powers of Communist Party Deputy Valery Rashkin, who was convicted in the case of killing a moose.
- Police regularly draw up reports on opposition politicians under the article on the demonstration of extremist materials (Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code) - most often because of posts about “Smart Voting”. A court ruling under this article deprives you of the opportunity to stand as a candidate in elections for a year.
- “Smart Voting” is a project created by Alexei Navalny’s team in 2018, aimed at reducing the results of United Russia in the elections. The Smart Voting website was blocked ahead of the 2021 elections. Roskomnadzor considered that it was “used to continue the activities and events of an extremist organization.”
- On June 9, 2021, the Moscow City Court recognized the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), the Foundation for the Protection of Citizens' Rights (FZPG) and the headquarters of Alexei Navalny as extremist organizations.