The court ordered the defendant in the “palace case” to pay compensation to Mosgortrans and the metro

The Second Cassation Court refused to satisfy the complaint of the defendant in the “palace case” Maria Chugunova in the case of blocking roads for protests in support of Alexei Navalny on February 2, 2021. A lawyer from OVD-Info, who represented her interests, spoke about this.

The court approved the decision on civil claims, according to which the activist must pay compensation to Mosgortrans and the metro - 2.9 million and 448 thousand rubles, respectively. According to the companies' claims, due to Chugunova's actions they allegedly suffered losses of this amount.

In May 2022, the magistrate of the 370th judicial precinct of the Tverskoy district of Moscow sentenced Chugunova to eight months in a general regime colony, finding her guilty of blocking roads to protests in support of Alexei Navalny on February 2, 2021 (Part 1 of Article 267 of the Criminal Code using Part. 2 art. 35 of the Criminal Code). At the same time, the prosecutor’s office demanded that she be given a shorter sentence—six months in prison.

In August, the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow approved the sentence for the defendant in the “palace case.”

• After the arrest of politician Alexei Navalny in January 2021, a series of protests took place throughout Russia, mass protests took place on Saturday January 23, Sunday January 31 and February 2 (the day Navalny’s suspended sentence was replaced with a real one). The security forces reacted harshly to the protests: on January 23, more than 4,000 people were detained, on January 31, more than 5,500 , and on February 2, more than 1,400 people . In connection with the April 21 protest , more than 2,200 people were detained, including at least 363 on surveillance cameras.
• In connection with the protests across the country, criminal cases have been opened against more than 180 people. The totality of these cases is called the “palace case,” since one of the catalysts for the protests was the FBK investigative film “ Palace for Putin. The story of the biggest bribe ." Most of the defendants are accused of using violence against government officials that is not dangerous to life and health (Part 1 of Article 318 of the Criminal Code).