Press release, June 28, 2013

YABLOKO leader Sergei Mitrokhin sent an appeal to the Judges’ Qualification Board of the Ulyanovsk Region demanding to start
disciplinary proceedings against Judge Petrova who had adopted a decision on blocking of the websites of nation-wide famous media as gazeta.ru, kp.ru and other media in Ulyanovsk.

“The government has adopted a draconian law on blocking web-sites. But the decision adopted in Ulyanovsk violates even this law: owners of the web-sites were not notified of any claims against them, moreover the claims were not based on the law,” Mitrokhin noted.

According to Mitrokhin, the decision of the Ulyanovsk judge was acknowledged unlawful and was not applied any more, but if no one
bears liability for this, then unlawful blocking of web-sites would go on.

In accordance with the law, the Judges’ Qualification Board may declare a warning to the judge or stop her proxies.

In April 2013, Public Prosecutor of the Ulyanovsk Region made law suit against several online media with a demand to block the pages of the e-media containing information on the methods of paying a bribe, the circumstances under which bribes are paid, as well as the ways and means allowing to avoid criminal prosecution for such a crime. In late May the court ruled out that the Rostelecom provider should block these pages. However, instead of this the provider completely blocked the web-sites.