The Federal Law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation Regarding the Improvement of Legislation on Public Events” allows the police to cordon off the territory to “prevent” mass unrest, makes it possible to arrest and detain protest participants for two days, and introduces penalties (up to criminal) for “repeated” and “repeated” violations.

Kyiv, January 2014. Photo: Focus.ua Since yesterday, the Law “On Amending Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation in terms of improving legislation on public events” has been in force in Russia. The fact that it has changed for the participants in the political actions with its adoption and what consequences can be expected to figure out the OVD-info.

The OVD-Info submits a report prepared on the basis of detention monitoring at public events in 2013 and the first quarter of 2014 in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Voronezh and other cities. The report gives statistics on the number of detentions at peaceful public events, describing typical violations in the police departments and during trials, and analyzes changes in Russian legislation on freedom of assembly.