Press Release, 23.09.2019

Activists of the Tatarstan branch of Yabloko conducted a series of one-person pickets, that do not require a permission from the authorities, in support of defendants in politically motivated criminal cases instituted as part of the so-called the “Moscow riots” case when people protested against non-registration of opposition candidates in the Moscow parliamentary election. The action was held in the centre of Kazan. During a series of pickets, party members and supporters demanded the release of those deprived of their liberty and accused in participation in the “mass riots” on 27 July, 2019, as well as drop charges against them and close criminal cases.

The regional branch of Yabloko emphasised that although actor Pavel Ustinov, one of the defendants in the case, was released from the pre-trial detention centre, the charges were still not withdrawn from him and he still faces severe punishment for a crime he did not commit.

“People demanded compliance with the Constitution and law and observance of their rights. They stood for fair and honest elections, and now they are accused of mass riots and damage to the security forces. This is an inconceivable shame of the state! I demand to close the “Moscow riotsr” case and release all the defendants, ” said Gulnaz Ravilova, organiser of the action and Yabloko’s activist .

The Investigative Committee is investigating the criminal case of “mass riots” (Article 212 of the Criminal Code), which allegedly accompanied the street rally on 27 July. On this day, thousands of Muscovites camde to the city centre in solidarity with independent candidates who were not allowed to run for the Moscow City Duma, 1,388 people (including 76 minors) were detained, and dozens were beaten by security forces. 20-year-old student Valery Kostenok, member of the Yabloko party and a volunteer of the headquarters of Kirill Goncharov, an unregistered candidate for deputy of the Moscow City Duma, was imprisoned within the framework of the “Moscow riots” case for two months. He became the 14th detainee in this case. Later, the criminal case against Valery Kostenok and four other young people accused of “riots” was closed.