Residents of the Chechen village of Alkhan-Kala, abducted in January, are being held in a pre-trial detention center in Grozny on charges of organizing or participating in an illegal armed formation. This was reported by the Center for the Protection of Human Rights "Memorial". On January 8, the Chechen opposition telegram channel NIYSO reported that the security forces had kidnapped about 20 residents of the village of Alkhan-Kala.

A court in the Moscow region sent local resident Andrei Kiesevalter to forced visa treatment because of a banner with the letter Z that had been splashed with paint. This was reported on the Network Freedoms telegram channel. a psychiatric hospital in a criminal case of vandalism is reported. The magistrate decided to release Kiesewalter from punishment and apply compulsory medical measures.

The contemporary art fair Art Russia, which was held from March 30 to April 2 in Gostiny Dvor in Moscow, did not allow the work of some artists to be exhibited. about this . writes The channel “Caution, Moscow” Participants of the fair said that their works were checked in several stages for possible insult to the feelings of believers, "LGBTQ propaganda" and criticism of the war in Ukraine. “By which of the criteria my work was removed, I don’t know.

At the exhibition “I came up. Art Perm ”The organizers turned away to the wall of the picture of the artist Alice Sokolova after the remark of the official from the governor’s administration. This was reported in the telegram channel of Ksenia Sobchak "Bloody lady". The exhibition in Perm was visited by the director of the Department of National and Religious Relations Anastasia Subbotina. She asked to remove Sokolova’s paintings, as she considered them offensive to religious people.

The authorities of the Sverdlovsk region refused to approve the Left Socialist Action organization for the May Day march in Yekaterinburg. “Evening Gazette” is about this. The regional Ministry of Public Security reported that it explained its refusal by the basic alert regime introduced by President Vladimir Putin. The authorities also invited activists to take part in a trade union rally, organized jointly with the regional federation in the closed territory of the Yekaterinburg Arena.

In Magnitogorsk on April 20, security forces conducted mass searches of Jehovah's Witnesses. One elderly believer was detained for two days. About this on the portal “Jehovah's Witnesses. Legal situation in Russia". The searches began around six in the morning and continued until noon. Security forces came to at least seven addresses of believers.

In Vladivostok, the prosecutor requested nine years of imprisonment and a year of additional restriction of liberty for Jehovah's Witness Dmitry Barmakin. This is reported by a portal covering the persecution of believers. The case against Barmakin is being considered by the Pervorechensky District Court. Previously, the same court with a different composition acquitted the man, but the verdict was overturned in the Primorsky Regional Court.

The Perovsky District Court of Moscow sentenced former MIA technician Samiel Vedel (Sergei Klokov) to seven years in a general regime colony. One of the listeners at the trial told OVD-Info about this. Wedel was found guilty of spreading “fake news” about the army during a wiretapped telephone conversation. The court also stripped him of the title of captain of the internal service and banned him from holding positions in the authorities for four years.

At least 32 people involved in the “anti-war cause” were subjected to torture and violence. OVD-Info came to these conclusions by analyzing data on repressions for April in the monthly summary of anti-war repressions . In 14 cases, the defendants were beaten during interrogation, in 13 - during detention.

The defendant in the case of arson of the military registration and enlistment office in Bratsk (Irkutsk region), Dmitry Mikheev, was transferred from pre-trial detention center-2 of Bratsk to pre-trial detention center-1 of Irkutsk. This was reported by the Solidarity Zone. On January 9, Baza reported on the arson of the military commissariat in Bratsk. According to the telegram channel, the fire occurred because an unknown person threw a Molotov cocktail at the window of the building.

A criminal case was opened against the leader of the “Accident” group, Alexey Kortnev, for insulting a security officer (Article 319 of the Criminal Code). TASS reports this with reference to the artist himself and law enforcement agencies. reports The reason for the persecution was a conflict between Kortnev and a police officer, which occurred after the cancellation of the February concert in Novosibirsk.

The defendant in the arson case of the Krasnodar FSB Directorate, Igor Paskary, was asked to serve 8.5 years in prison. This was reported by the Solidarity Zone. The prosecutor demanded such a punishment during a hearing in the Southern District Military Court. A 46-year-old resident of Volgograd is accused of committing a terrorist attack (Part 1 of Article 205 of the Criminal Code) and vandalism motivated by political hatred (Part 2 of Article 214 of the Criminal Code).

In the Kemerovo region, the security forces detained two young people in the case of an attempt to set fire to relay cabinets. This is reported by the telegram channel SHOT. According to the channel, a 19-year-old boy and a 22-year-old girl were detained at about three in the morning on April 23. According to SHOT, young people tried to set fire to five relay cabinets in the city of Anzhero-Sudzhensk, but they failed to open the structures.

Fourteen months ago, Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine. At the same time, a new round of repression against people inside Russia began. Almost 20 thousand were detained for their anti-war position, more than 500 persons involved in criminal cases, including minors and pensioners. OVD-Info continues to collect and analyze data on political and anti-war repressions in Russia. You can support the project using this link .

Freedom of speech in Russia. Joint report for the 4th cycle of the UN Universal Periodic Review English version Publication date: 04/10/2023 The Justice for Journalists Foundation is a UK non-governmental organization established in 2018 (registered charity number: 1,201,812). The Foundation monitors, analyzes and reports on attacks on media workers that have occurred since 2017 in 12 post-Soviet states, including Russia.