The co-founder of the Russian LGBT Network, Igor Kochetkov, who was recognized as a “foreign agent”, left Russia. this He announced on his Facebook, SOTA drew attention to the post. “There is no choice for me to 'stay' or not 'stay'. For me, the choice was and remains relevant: to continue to do what I think is right in the name of what I believe in, or to refuse it under the influence of circumstances.

The OVD-Info website was blocked on the basis of a “comprehensive psychological and linguistic study” and assumptions made by the prosecutor’s office in its wake. Specific materials are not and cannot, by law, be grounds for blocking an entire resource and social network accounts. The research cited in the court's decision represents an arbitrary generalization.

Police officers detained Novokuznetsk activist Igor Gorlanov during a solitary picket. The moment of detention was broadcast on Gorlanov's YouTube channel. The activist stood with a poster "Russia against torture". Law enforcement officers charged him with violating the “coronavirus” restrictions (apparently, we are talking about Article 20.6.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). Where Gorlanov is now is unknown. OVD-Info could not get through to him.

The case of six Jehovah's Witnesses was again brought to the Industrial District Court of Khabarovsk. This was reported on a website covering the persecution of believers. Jehovah's Witnesses Nikolai Poledov, Stanislav Kim and Vitaly Zhuk are accused of organizing the activities of an extremist organization (Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code).

The police and the Center "E" massively go around the houses of activists who have filed a class action lawsuit against QR codes. OVD-Info was informed about this by Matvey Burdin, information about this is also available in the public “#Exposed” on VKontakte. It is known about visits to the representative of the Independent Association of Doctors Alina Lushavina, physician Irina Lavrova, civil activist Svetlana Belova and two more plaintiffs, whose names are unknown.

On December 30, the Nikolsky District Court of the Penza Region sentenced Jehovah's Witnesses Peter and Maya Krupnov to three years of probation and restriction of freedom for eight months. The press service of the European Association of Jehovah's Witnesses reported this to OVD-Info. The believers were found guilty under the article on participation in the activities of an extremist organization (Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code).

On December 31, OVD-Info sent to the Ministry of Justice and Russian Human Rights Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova an overview of regional regulations prohibiting single-person pickets, as well as relevant law enforcement practice. The analysis confirms that it does not literally follow from the norms prohibiting the holding of “public and other mass events” that single pickets are prohibited as mass public events.

Our site was blocked not for material about the explosion in the Arkhangelsk FSB, as a number of publications wrote. And not for any other materials mentioned in the decision of the Lukhovitsky court. This clearly follows from the published document. The OVD-Info website was blocked on the basis of a "comprehensive psychological and linguistic study" and the assumptions made by the prosecutor's office in its wake.