Yabloko is filing a lawsuit

Press Release, 17.07.2018

The Yabloko party received a refusal from the Prefect’s Office of the Central Administrative District of Moscow to hold 33 pickets against the pension reform. Yabloko intends to appeal the refusals of the Prefect’s Office and Putin’s decree banning all the street actions during the World Cup up to 25 July (which officials refer to) in courts, up to the Constitutional Court.

The Prefect’s Office of the Central Administrative District of Moscow refused to give a permission to activists of the Yabloko party to picket against raising the retirement age in 11 venues in the center of Moscow for three days – July 17, 18 and 19. Pickets were planned to be held in Tverskaya, Suvorovskaya, Pushkinskaya Square and Yauzsky Gates Square, Gogol Boulevard, Theater Passage, at the Khudozhestvenny Cinema and at the Park Kultury, Tretyakovskaya and Novokuznetskaya metro stations.

Deputy Prefect Larisa Tiunova refers in her refusal to the decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, which actually prohibits holding street actions during the World Cup. “As the general requirement for the period of the introduction of enhanced security measures, the executive authorities are proposed to temporarily exclude holding of public events in the environment of the venues of the competitions, transport infrastructure, tourist routes and other places of mass stay of residents and visitors of the capital,” the document runs.

Yabloko believes that the Russian President had no right to restrict the constitutional rights of citizens to freedom of assembly by a decree. According to the Constitution, such restriction is possible only by federal law. In addition, the prefecture was obliged to offer organisers other venues for conducting their actions.

Applicants of the pickets intend to appeal the refusals of the Prefect’s Office in court with the prospects of challenging the decree of the president officials refer to in the Constitutional Court.

The Yabloko party was among the co-organisers of demonstrations and rallies against the pension reform. It was planned to hold the actions in Moscow and St. Petersburg on 18 July, on the threashold  of the consideration of the draft law by the State Duma. However, city administrations did not give their permission to hold the actions in the central venues of Moscow and St,Petersburg.

In St. Petersburg, the organisers of the action appealed against the refusal of the city administration in court. Smolninsky and Moskovsky district courts dismissed the claim “in connection with the police’s work to protect the facilities of the World Cup and a large number of persons subject to state protection who will follow through Moskovsky Prospect”. Yabloko appealed to the city court. The appeal will be considered today.