Press Release, 15.01.2024

Photo: Police at the office of the Novgorod branch of Yabloko confiscate part of the circulation of the newspaper “I Am For Peace!”, August 2023 / Photo by the regional branch of the party

The Novgorod regional branch of the Yabloko was fined 200,000 roubles for publishing the newspaper “I Am For Peace!” during the elections to the Novgorod City Duma in September 2023. The formal reason for two administrative fines of 100,000 roubles each for “illegal campaigning” is the alleged lack of foreign agency markings on campaign materials. The Novgorod Yabloko says that it is political pressure. The fines were approved by the appellate court; the leader of the regional branch, Anna Cherepanova, filed complaints with the cassation court. However, 200,000 roubles have to be paid before mid-February, and the Novgorod Yabloko starts fundraising to cover the fines and pay for a lawyer.

The Territorial Electoral Commission of Veliky Novgorod drew up administrative protocols for the electoral association on 20 November, almost three months after the elections. In December 2023, judges of courts of the first instance of two judicial districts found the electoral association “The Novgorod Regional Branch of the Yabloko Party” guilty of “production, distribution or placement of campaign materials in violation of the requirements of the legislation on elections and referendums” (Article 5.12, Part 1, of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). Later, the judges of the Novgorod District Court confirmed the decisions on fines made by the courts of the first instance.

During the election campaign, the Novgorod Yabloko published two issues of the newspaper “I Am For Peace!”, each containing a separate page mentioning a candidate nominated by the party who was affiliated with a foreign agent. Such a candidate was the Chair of the local branch of the Yabloko party in Veliky Novgorod, Ksenia Cherepanova, who had previously participated in the Golos election observation movement, but suspended her activities in it 30 months ago.

The newspaper “I Am For Peace!” was submitted to the electoral commission, in accordance with the procedure established by law, before distribution began. The Territorial Electoral Commission, which received the newspaper, did not make decisions about the newspaper’s non-compliance with the requirements of the law. Moreover, the Novgorod Yabloko did not engage in its distribution: this was done by the executive with whom the electoral association made an agreement on such work.

Anna Cherepanova, the leader of the Novgorod Yabloko and a deputy of the City Duma, notes that law enforcement agencies, the Ministry of Justice, the administration of Veliky Novgorod, as well as people in civilian clothes checked the newspaper “I Am For Peace!” at all campaign pickets for information about a candidate affiliated with a foreign agent. Not a single complaint was made either to the distributor, or to the picketers, or to the regional department.

However, in August, the Territorial Electoral Commission received a complaint from a Mr. Shavayev about the distribution of Yabloko newspapers through mailboxes without a tab about the foreign agency. It should be noted that a member of the Territorial Electoral Commission of Veliky Novgorod and the head of the Internal Policy Department of the Administration of the Governor of the Novgorod Region has the same name. Police officers went to the places where offenses were allegedly committed. In total, the circulation of two issues of the newspaper was 70,000 copies, the police found 63 copies of the circulation in mail boxes, including ten copies that allegedly had no “foreign agent” inserts. The police indicated in their reports that no violations were detected. The regional branch of Yabloko believes that this was a planned provocation by competitors or ill-wishers, who could remove the pages with information about the foreign agency from campaign newspapers and call the police.

The position of the Novgorod Yabloko defence was that administrative protocols, and then court decisions, are drawn up for the already defunct electoral association “The Novgorod Regional Branch of the Yabloko Party”. In addition, the authorities of Yekaterina Konstantinova, a voting member of the Territorial Electoral Commission of Veliky Novgorod, to draw up protocols on administrative violations have expired. The lawyer of the Novgorod Yabloko also insists that there is no evidence of the regional branch’s guilt: the newspaper delivery man was not been identified; the court did not establish how the Novgorod Yabloko was supposed to check the integrity of the newspapers distributed in citizens’ mailboxes.

The Novgorod Yabloko intends to defend itself in the Third Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction in St. Petersburg. But before this time, it has to cover the fines in the amount of 200,000 roubles. The deadlines for paying the fines are 6 February and 18 February. Yabloko also continues to raise funds to pay for a lawyer. At the moment, 22,000 roubles out of the required 50,000 have been raised.

The Novgorod Yabloko thanks all its voters who voted for the party of peace in the September elections and allowed Yabloko to represent their interests in the Duma of Veliky Novgorod. Now Yabloko asks its voters to defend the slogan “For Peace!” and provide all possible assistance to cover the fines and pay for the work of a lawyer, for this Yabloko needs 250,000 roubles.