Press Release, 7.12.2022

Photo: Ruslan Zinalullin / Photo from social media

The Sovetsky District Court of Kazan for the third time considered the request of the investigation to conduct a search at the home of Ruslan Zinatullin, head of the regional branch of the Yabloko party in the Republic of Tatarstan, and issued permission to conduct investigative actions, which took place on 17 March, 2022. The search at the home of Zinatullin and other Yabloko members took place as part of a criminal case on inciting mass riots (Article 212 Part 1.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) because of a post in Telegram.

For the first time, the corresponding petition of the investigation was granted by the Sovetsky District Court on 15 March. On 17 March, there were multiple searches at the homes of political activists in Kazan. Searches were conducted in the homes of Ruslan Zinatullin, Chairman of the Yabloko branch in Kazan, Gulnaz Ravilova, Deputy Chair of the Kazan branch of Yabloko, and Yelena Izotova, a member of the regional council of the branch. Despite the status of witnesses, equipment, storage media and banking cards of Yabloko members were confiscated. During the search, the law enforcement officers set the door of Ruslan Zinatullin’s flat on fire and threw him to the floor and handcuffed, trotted on his back, insulted and threatened him.

Later, Zinatullin appealed against the decision of the Sovetsky District Court to conduct a search to the Supreme Court of Tatarstan. On May 6, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Tajikistan canceled the decision of the lower court and sent the case materials for a new trial.

On 20 May, the Sovetsky District Court of Kazan denied the investigators’ request for a search. However, the Deputy Public Prosecutor of Tatarstan filed a cassation appeal against the decision of the Sovetsky District Court, demanding that the court decision be canceled and the request for a search be sent for a new consideration. On 26 October, the Sixth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction satisfied the cassation appeal of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Tatarstan, canceled the decision of the Sovetsky District Court and returned the case for a new trial to the same court.

On 5 December, the Sovetsky District Court permitted the search. Thus, the court considered the petition of the investigation for the third time and ruled that the search, during which the door of Ruslan Zinatullin’s home was set on fire, Zinatullin was thrown to the floor and handcuffed, trotted on his back, insulted and threatened, was carried out on legal grounds.

In total, since the beginning of the so-called “special operation”, Yabloko had to face 23 searches or “inspections” – 19 party activists had their homes searched (some of them twice) and three regional offices of the party were searched.

Read more about the persecution of Yabloko members after the start of the “special operation”.