Press release, 29.02.2016
On 27 February, police detained nine people including three YABLOKO members – Nikolai Kovalchuk, Vitaly Bakharyev and Victor Puziryev – who organised a demonstration to honour Boris Nemtsov in Kemerovo.

When the prosters who carried YABLOKO’s placards and Nemtsov’s portraits started to march the police stopped and detained them immediately.

The organisers of the action filed a notification on conduction of the demonstration to the Kemerovo City Hall. Deputy Mayor Olga Turbaba wrote back that the notification did not conform with the Law on meetings, rallies, demonstrations, marches, picketing. However, she did not explain which point of the law had been violated.

Judge of the Kemerovo Central district Alexander Shcherbinin brought administrative actions against nine people. YABLOKO’s activits and three other activists were fined from 10,000 to 15,000 rubles under Article 20.2 of the Administration Code (violation of the established order of organisation or holding meetings, rallies, demonstrations, marches or pickets). Pavel Murabyev, Maxim Labrentyev and Anton Zhukov were charged with 10 days of arrest under Article 19.3 (disobedience to the lawful demands of a police officer).

Majors Evgeny Barabanshchikov and Dmitry Oskin controlled the detention of the activits.

The activits will appeal against the court decision.