Press Release, 14 January 2026

Photo: The Supreme Court of Russia / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

Nikolai Rybakov, Chair of the Yabloko Party, has sent an appeal to Gennady Lopatin, Director General of the Judicial Department at the Supreme Court of Russia, demanding an analysis of the practices of scheduling court hearings at hours that effectively prevent members of the public and journalists from attending.

The appeal was prompted by a situation at Moscow’s Zamoskvoretsky District Court on 23 December, when a hearing on extending the preventive measure for Maxim Kruglov, Deputy Chair of the Yabloko Party, was scheduled for 17:50 — ten minutes before the end of the court’s working hours. The hearing took place, but journalists, relatives, colleagues and friends of Kruglov were asked to leave the court building.

Rybakov noted that in this case the scheduling of the hearing appeared manifestly unjustified, since judicial proceedings on all matters and in all categories of cases should meet the criteria of comprehensive, complete and objective examination of the circumstances of the case, rather than the criterion of speed of consideration.

“I would emphasise that this is not about evaluating the actions of a specific judge or a particular procedural decision, but about a broader, systemic problem. Scheduling open court hearings at the hours that effectively preclude the possibility of the public being present results in the substitution of the principle of transparency with its formal observance. A hearing is declared open, yet the conditions of its conduct do not allow for public oversight of the administration of justice,” Rybakov stated.

He also emphasised that such precedents create risks for the completeness and quality of judicial consideration, whereas transparency of court proceedings is one of the key guarantees of public trust in justice.