YABLOKO’s Maxim Petlin is a political prisoner

Press Release, March 21, 2013

"Maxim Petlin can be considered a political prisoner," YABLOKO leader Sergei Mitrokhin commented on the sentence to Maxim Petlin, leader of the Sverdlovsk Region branch of YABLOKO and deputy of the Yekaterinburg City Duma.

"We believe that the sentence is based on a case fabricated by the investigators with gross procedural violations. Petlin’s activities targeted at exposing corruption launched his prosecution," said Mitrokhin.

According to Mitrokhin, the court acts "in the interest of the clans controlling the city and influencing not only on the city, but also the regional Federal Security Service departments, the prosecutor's office and the court"...

YABLOKO files a lawsuit against the electoral commission members and the policeman who beat woman observer

Press Release, March 26, 2013

The YABLOKO party is filing a lawsuit against the electoral commission members and the policeman who beat woman observer in an attempt to snatch a falsified final protocol of the voting given to her. The incident occurred late last night at polling station No 02-13 after the counting of votes in the mayoral election of Anapa. Alexandra Garkusha, aged 23, an observer from the YABLOKO party, together with representatives from other parties and candidates was given a falsified final protocol of the voting by the commission members. The document had no legal force and could not form a basis for filing a case in court.

Alexandra Garkusha drew the attention of the Commission to this fact and refused to sign for the receipt of such a protocol. After that, the commission members expressed their dissatisfaction in extremely disproportionate aggression and attacked Alexandra trying to snatch the protocol from her hands. According to the witnesses, Irina Tropina, Chair of the Electoral Commission, was the most aggressive attacker encouraging her subordinates to more violence...

Mayoral elections in Anapa: YABLOKO leader demands from head of the Central Electoral Commission to cancel the results of the elections

Press Release, March 26, 2013

YABLOKO leader Sergei Mitrokhin demanded from Vladimir Churov, head of the Central Election Commission, to cancel the results of the mayoral elections in Anapa, the Krasnodar Territory, held on Sunday. The number of cases of stuffing of fraudulent ballots does not allow a genuine expression of voters’ will to be determined. Information about all the facts of fraud was also sent to the Central Electoral Commission...

Gross violations began already on Friday, when road police detained a coach that had to transport YABLOKO and independent observers from Taganrog to Anapa...

However, on the voting day about 20 cars with about a hundred of YABLOKO’s observers could not get to the polling stations by their opening time 8 a.m., due to blocking of the road by the police and a staged “car accident” on the road Sukko-Anapa...

“All this was done so that our observers could not get to the polling station to their opening and so that to do unhampered stuffing of ballots in favour of Sergei Sergeyev, United Russia candidate and ex police head whom Governor Tkachyov wanted to see as Anapa Mayor,” said Sergei Mitrokhin who also visited the “accident site”.

Voting demonstrated different violations – from stuffing of ballots to ousting of observers from polling stations, ban on filming, as well as threats and physical violence against observers.

See the video of violence against a woman observer Alexandra Gorkusha...

An attack was undertaken against Sergei Mitrokhin. An unidentified person sprayed some green liquid in the face of YABLOKO’s leader at one of the polling stations. The liquid got onto his neck and arms. An emergency doctor wiped the paint from the skin, but advised Sergei Mitrokhin to go to hospital for further observation, since "anything could have been mixed into the liquid"...

YABLOKO’s inspection: construction of the country cottage of ex Defence Minsiter Serdyukov in a natural reserve is almost finished, the second country cottage of Governor Tkachyov will be built soon

Press Release, March 22, 2013

Today YABLOKO leader Sergei Mitrokhin has held a public inspection of the so-called "Serdyukov cottage" in the Big Utrish natural reserve area. The inspection was held within the framework of Mitrokhin’s visit to the Krasnodar region. Alexei Yegorov, leader of the Anapa branch of YABLOKO and candidate for the Mayor of Anapa, and Andrei Rudomakha, leader of the regional branch of YABLOKO also participated in the inspection.
The participants of the inspection have personally observed that construction of the cottage in a natural reserve went on despite the resignation of Anatoly Serdyukov fromk his ministerial post. In 2009, the site was transferred to the Ministry of Defence for "placement of a navigation station" there. However, mysteriously, construction of a luxury villa instead of a radar began at the site. The contractor was Serdyukov’s son-in-law Valery Puzikov. Presumably the villa is being built for him...
YABLOKO also carried out an inspection of another plot of land: not far from "Serdyukov’ villa" there may soon emerge the second villa of Governor Tkachyov. According to the activists of the regional branch of YABLOKO, the site in the natural reserve Big Utrish was transferred into property of the Stroibeton company. Most likely the owner of the cottage will be Governor of the Krasnodar Territory Alexander Tkachyov. Such a scheme – transfer of land into property of some firms controlled by him – Tkachyov had already used in the construction of his first summer cottage in the Blue Bay.
Sergei Mitrokhin is visiting Anapa to support Alexei Yegorov, YABLOKO’s candidate for the post of the city mayor. The elections will be held on March 24. Sergei Mitrokhin appealed to the Central Electoral Commission so that the Commission ensure lawful voting.

ALDE welcomes Commission's new consultations on media freedom and pluralism

Press Release, the ALDE Group, European Parliament, March 22, 2013

The ALDE Group welcomes today's launch by the European Commission of two consultations on media freedom and pluralism and audiovisual media regulator independence.

The first consultation asks specifically to comment on the EU's competences to act in protection of media freedom and on the roles of national regulatory authorities, as well as if current laws need to be changed.

EP rapporteur on an "EU Charter: Standard settings for Media Freedom across the EU", Renate Weber (PNL, Romania) said: "We hope this consultation will pave the way to the establishment of a regular mechanism of monitoring and reporting over the full respect of media freedom and pluralism, as a democratic exercise that all EU Member States should do"...

Grigory Yavlinsky asks Governor of St. Petersburg to explain why the city budget has not been implemented

Press Release, March 21, 2013

The St.Petersburg Legislative Assembly rejected an inquiry from Grigory Yavlinsky, leader of the YABLOKO faction in the Legislative Assembly, on non-implementation of the city budget. The Legislative Assembly referred to its new regulations. The YABLOKO faction will seek in court to cancel the new procedure for filing inquiries to officials. Meanwhile Yavlinsky expressed his concern about the "very unsatisfactory state of affairs in the budgetary process of St. Petersburg" and wants to know what measures Governor Georgy Poltavchenko is going to adopt so that to amend the situation. In his deputy inquiry Grigory Yavlinsky appeals to the Governor "in view of an extremely poor state of affairs in the budgetary process of St. Petersburg"...

Letter of Anne Breasseur, President of ALDE, CE, to Sergei Mitrokhin on the attack against YABLOKO

March 19, 2013

The ALDE Group of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is deeply concerned with the news we are receiving from Russia. The attacks perpetrated against the Yabloko party in Moscow are yet another manifestation of growing intolerance in the Russian society.

The ALDE condemns the perpetrators of these attacks which are not simply an act of vandalism, but also an offence against the freedom of expression. We sincerely hope that the legal proceedings that you have launched will receive appropriate attention both from the judiciary and the political authorities of Russia. Such acts cannot be tolerated.

I would like to assure you that the Monitoring Committee will be duly informed about these deplorable developments...

Russia's Liberals Attacked by Orthodox Fascists

LI News Bulletin, Issue 324, March 21, 2013

LI full member Yabloko, became a direct victim of the rising intolerance in Russia, when its headquarters in Moscow were attacked by “Orthodox fascists”. This video demonstrates how they stole and publicly burnt books and booklets published by the party. Yabloko suspects that the reason behind this provocation is the fact that the party has rejected the movement's proposal for building new Christian Orthodox temples on sites where city gardens and children's playgrounds are situated. Sergei Mitrokhin, Yabloko's leader, was outraged, saying: 'We are expecting a reaction from Vladimir Putin, the People's Front and the Russian Orthodox Church to the provocations of the thugs acting on their behalf. In the absence of any response we will consider this attack as the beginning of “Maoist-style terror” against the political opposition and we will build our party strategy in line with these new realities.” ALDE-PACE President Anne Brasseur condemned the attack and expressed “sincere hopes that the legal proceedings that Yabloko has launched will receive appropriate attention both from the judiciary and the political authorities of Russia.”

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ALDE and YABLOKO to conduct a conference on migration problems

Press Release, March 20, 2013

International conference on migration problems will take place in Moscow on April 6. The organizers are the ALDE Party (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) and YABLOKO’s Political Committee.

The conference will discuss the following topics:

- migration dynamics and its political, economic and cultural consequences;
- integration of migrants of the first and further generations: positive and negative experience;
- restraining and regulatory mechanisms: different countries’ experiences and international cooperation;
- regulation of migration: the tasks of the state and the society...

In defence of the MK newspaper. YABLOKO’s view

Press Release, March 20, 2013

The YABLOKO party believes that the stance of the State Duma deputies in their conflict with the MK newspaper violates the Russian law envisaging that it is the court which takes decisions on all the disputes relating to publications in the mass media. The MPs actions not only contravene the procedures established by law, but are also in conflict with ethical and moral norms governing public life...

The MPs’ demands to [Pavel Gusev], Editor-in-Chief of the MK to leave his post of Chairman of the Moscow Journalists’ Union represents an attempt to interfere into the spheres of public life that are completely beyond control of the legislative authority and are governed by internal corporate standards of professional communities.

The MPS’ idea to "take away" MK from Pavel Gusev [who is also the owner of the paper] is a direct attack on the principle of the inviolability of private property. Proposing such solutions to disputes with the media MPs undermine the legal foundations of the state, which again demonstrates their great incompetence and catastrophic failure as the legislators...

“Inquisition” by the Orthodox fascists against the YABLOKO party

Press Release, March 17, 2013

Orthodox activists from the God's Will (Bozhya Volya) public movement staged "Orthodox Inquisition against the YABLOKO party". A group of young men burst into YABLOKO’s Moscow headquarters on Friday night, took all the freely available books and booklets published by the party and burned them in the square by Novokuznetskaya metro station which is in 3 minutes walk from YABLOKO’s office. The video entitled "Confiscation and Burning of Waste Paper by the Party Satanists and Perverts YABLOKO" was loaded by the young people on the Internet...

Violence against women is a persistent stain on our society

Press Release, the ALDE Group, European Parliament, March 7, 2013

Ahead of International Women's Day, Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament (ALDE) call for united international action to combat violence against women. In Europe, 45 % of women will experience some type of violence at least once in her lifetime. Every day one in five women in Europe is a victim of violence. Antonyia Parvanova (NMSP, Bulgaria), ALDE spokesperson on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, participated in the UN summit meeting on 'The elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women', being held from 4 to 15 March in New York. The Bulgarian liberal presented the activities of the European Parliament to eridicate violence against women while highlighting the challenges faced in the EU.

Mrs Parvanova commented "We have to continue to take concrete steps to defend women's and girls' fundamental right to live free from violence. But we won't achieve concrete results if acting alone . The EU has an excellent opportunity to deliver on its commitments by pressing for coordinated international action at the UN Conference"...

Signatures for the resignation of Pavel Astakhov, Ombudsman for Children’s Rights, are sent to Vladimir Putin

Press Release, March 4, 2013

Nikolai Rybakov, member of the Federal Bureau of the YABLOKO party, has sent to Vladimir Putin over 11,000 signatures collected in favour of resignation of Pavel Astakhov, Ombudsman for Children’s Rights (notoriously known for his support of the “orphans law” and calls to return all the Russian orphans adopted abroad back to Russia).

Over 11,000 signatures were collected in just a week, despite ddos-attacks and Internet bots attacking the Demokrator.ru website where the signatures were collected.

"We believe that a man who has cynically exploited the death of a child [adopted by a US family] for his political gain, can not hold the post of Children's Ombudsman," runs Rybakov’s statement.

"I think that the president should not wave away the appeal of 11,000 citizens. Let us at least make him think whether his representative Mr. Astakhov has been acting in an honest and due manner? Our final goal is still there: Russia should have a decent defender of children," Nikolai Rybakov said...

Sergei Mitrokhin called Muscovites to change the Moscow government

Press Release, March 2, 2013

YABLOKO leader Sergei Mitrokhin called the participants of the Social Manifestation to "change the authorities at the next elections to the Moscow City Duma," rather than ask the Mayor of Moscow team for some "handouts". "We offer the entire civil society to unite for the Moscow City Duma elections and agree to provide our party candidates list for this purpose, and we give half of the list for civil society activists," Mitrokhin said at a rally on Sakharov Square...

Mitrokhin also said that the policies of the Moscow authorities was "authoritarian and incompetent in many areas, but extremely self-confident and based on the most profound contempt for the Muscovites". "The Sobyanin’s team acts as if they came to some kindergarten rather than Moscow. They know what is better for us, and we should wait with our mouths open when they bring happiness to us," Mitrokhin said...

YABLOKO’s Alexei Firsov, head of Kolchuginsky District, the Vladimir region, dismissed from his post

Press Release, February 28, 2013

YABLOKO’s Alexei Firsov, head of Kolchuginsky District, the Vladimir region, was dismissed from his post because of a conflict with the head of the district administration Andrei Mitroshkin. The decision on dismissal was taken at today's meeting of the Council of People's Deputies of the district by 12 votes "for" with three "against."

Most of the deputies of the Council refused to consider the appeal of Governor Nikolai Vinogradov in support of Firsov. Several dozens of local residents came to support Alexei Firsov at the Council meeting, but only a few were allowed into the assembly hall. After voting Firsov thanked his supporters after which the residents together with Firsov left the hall. Now Firsov will work in the Council as an ordinary member. His term will expire in two years...