The court repeatedly terminated the case of a picketer who opposed the demolition of historical St. Petersburg

The Petrograd District Court of St. Petersburg repeatedly terminated the administrative case of the city defender Oleg Mukhin, who participated in the picket against the demolition of the Basevich house. In court, he was represented by a lawyer from the OVD-info Igor Skachko.

Mukhin was charged with an article on the organization of an inconsistent public action (part 2 of article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). The protocol on it was drawn up on the basis of publication on the social network dedicated to the action of the city defenders. On the picket, Mukhin stood with the poster “organized crime groups Petersburg!”

The court found that the police incorrectly reflected information about the time and place of holding the action. So, the security forces indicated that the picket ended on October 14 at 13:18, although in reality this was the publication of the post on the action.

Judge A. Brodsky decided to terminate the administrative case in connection with the lack of the composition of the offense. The Petrograd court is not the first to consider this administrative case. In January 2023, the court also terminated this case on the same basis, but the police filed a complaint with the city court of St. Petersburg, which canceled this decision and sent it for a new consideration.

• Basevich’s house is a modern building built in 1912. They plan to reconstruct the house under the hostel of the Dance Academy Boris Eifman and the Academic Ballet Theater. Clogamiders are actively acting against demolition. Over the past few years, the building has experienced several fires, activists associate fires with an attempt to put pressure on those who are fighting for the protection of the structure.
• In August 2022, Oleg Mukhin said that unknown people attacked him and beat him near the Saltykova mansion, where activists came to hold pickets against the demolition of the building. He was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury.