According to the regional coordinator of the "Open Russia" Alyona Shtykina, on November 1, the Leninsky District Court in Ulyanovsk sentenced two activists to administrative fines for walking along the street accompanied by 12 people and laying flowers to the monument to victims of political repressions on October 7 during coordinated action in memory of the "Novaya Gazeta" journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
Alyona Shtykina was accused of organizing an unauthorized public event and fined 20,000 rubles, while Mikhail Samarin was fined 10,000 rubles. On October 25, another activist Andrei Izvekov was fined 10,000 rubles. According to the court's decision, his offense represents "a high degree of public danger".
"We will receive a court decision on Friday and appeal against the verdict," Alyona Shtykina said. "There were no signs of a march — agitation, involvement in the problem, a pre-determined route. Witnesses, who were involved in the process of the Center for Combating Extremism, could not explain what problem we were paying attention to."
According to her, witnesses Nina Timerbulatova and Alexey Domarchuk admitted in court that they worked in the Leninsky district administration of Ulyanovsk.
"The witness said that each of us held a balloon, whereas all videos and photos show that all the balloons are carried by one person, so it is obvious that there was no witness on the spot," said Alyona Shtykina.
"Judge Khaustova managed to recognize the walk of 12 people a mass procession and, by her decision, actually banned the laying of flowers to monuments," said Igor Toporkov, representative of the movement "For Human Rights". It was he who held a coordinated action in memory of Anna Politkovskaya near the monument to the victims of political repression, and activists of the "Open Russia" joined this action.
In total, five people were brought to administrative responsibility for participating in the "uncoordinated public event". As suggested by Alyona Shtykina, these were the activists who, after laying flowers, stood in solitary pickets on Goncharov Street with posters "Tap is dripping, quarreled with your wife – call Putin", "Putin is not only our president, but our destiny?". Police officers took their passport data.
Sergey Gogin, «7x7»
