Press Release, 20.03.2023

Photo: Anatoly Nogovitsyn / Photo from the personal archive

On 20 March, a trial on the case of “discrediting the army” by Anatoly Nogovitsyn, the leader of the Yabloko branch in Yakutia, was held in the Yakutsk City Court. The politician made his last appearance before the court. The decision will be announced on 21 March.

“The judge knows perfectly well that the Constitution of the Russian Federation guarantees freedom of thought and speech, as well as the dissemination of information. As for the UN Convention on Human Rights, signed by the Russian Federation, which obliges the signatory country to guarantee freedom of speech on its territory…, and the defence has already mentioned it. However, a very important point is forgotten.

The future, whether we like it or not, will come. And those who were for, and those who are against, will not evaporate. We will be living together. Therefore, we need to live in such a way in the present, so that we can look into each other’s eyes in the future,” Anatoly Nogovitsyn said in his speech at the trial.

It should be noted that Nogovitsyn is being tried under Article 280.3, Part 1, of the Criminal Code of Russia for publishing a video on his Telegram channel expressing an opinion on “partial mobilisation”.

The City Court will announce the decision in the case of Anatoly Nogovitsyn on 21 March, at 09:00 local time. Yabloko asks all people who are in Yakutsk tomorrow to support Anatoly Nogovitsyn by coming to the trial. The address of the city court is: 18 Yaroslavsky street.