Press Release, 22.08.2022

Photo: Andrei Morev / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

On 19 August, the Territorial Electoral Commission of the Yakimanka District in Moscow decided to remove Andrei Morev, head of the Yakimanka Municipal Council in Moscow and Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Yabloko, from the forthcoming municipal elections. Earlier, Morev was found guilty of “demonstrating extremist symbols” and served 15 days of administrative arrest. Andrei Morev was also deprived of his right to be elected for a year, as he was found guilty under Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (“demonstration of extremist symbols”).

Nikolai Kavkazsky, a member of the Regional Council of the Moscow Yabloko, and Maya Baidakova, deputy head of the legal department of the apparat of the Council of Deputies of Yakimanka, were deprived of the right to be elected for the same reason. They served ten days of administrative arrest.

In addition, Yevgenia Gershberg, the current deputy of the Council of Deputies Troparevo-Nikulino from the Yabloko party, received a refusal for the Territorial Electoral Commission to register her in the elections. The Electoral Commission found errors in the candidate’s documents, which Yevgenia corrected after receiving a notification from the commission, but when making a decision on registration, the Elecctoral Commission refused to take into account the corrections made by Gershberg. The courts of two instances left the decision of the Territorial Electoral Commission in force.

At the moment, 150 candidates from Yabloko have been registered for the municipal elections in Moscow, which will be held on 11 September.

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