According to human rights defender Alexander Peredruk, the Oktyabrsk District Court of Murmansk fully satisfied the requirements of activists on the ban of the picket of solidarity with the independent trade union, and ordered the authorities to eliminate violations. But the court found no violations in another similar case.
Let us recall that in March and April of this year a group of young people with left political views submitted to hold public events in order to express solidarity with the independent union TEKOS near the monument to Cyril and Methodius. However, the authorities have not approved the picket. In the first case it was suggested to move it closer to the territory of the enterprise. According to them, it would be more consistent with the purpose of the event. But the administration has not offered some certain place. In the second case, the event proposed to be held in the hyde-park.
Activists didn’t support this decision and with the help of a lawyer of Regional Youth Council for Human Rights of the Murmansk region appealed to the court to declare the actions of the authorities illegal.
“In the first case, the court made the only right decision and acknowledged the authorities contrary to the law, —Alexander Peredruk said after the issuance of the operative part of the decision. — However, the court did not uphold the second claim, we don’t know the reason, but I assume that this is due to the norm of the regional law, requiring submitting of additional copy of the notice to the authorities, which are near the venue of the action”.
Human rights defenders are not satisfied with this situation, and they don’t exclude the possibility of contesting not only this prohibition, but the law itself.
“The legal framework of Murmansk, governing the freedom of assembly, is more or less adequate, but the enforcement is very low, —Alexander Peredruk said. — Courts don’t hear arguments with reference to international standards, the European Court and even the Constitutional Court of Russia, and with the help of additional formal requirements for organizers of public events, set forth in local laws, they adjudicate matters, which clearly disproportionately restrict freedom of assembly. I don’t exclude that I will file the complaint regarding the verification of these enactments for compliance with federal law.
Both court decisions have not entered into force yet.
Over the work of the Regional Youth Council for Human Rights Murmansk defenders have already transferred 2 complaints related to violation of the right to peaceful protest to the European Court of Human Rights.
Original: http://7x7-journal.ru/item/43128
