Press Release, 29.08.2023

Photo: The team of the Pskov regional branch of Yabloko / Photo by the Pskov Yabloko

The Pskov Regional Court upheld the decisions of the district courts, which canceled the legal decisions of the territorial electoral commissions on the registration of unified lists of Yabloko candidates at the elections of assemblies of deputies of the Krasnogorodsky, Loknyansky, Novorzhevsky, Opochetsky, Pechorsky, Pytalovsky, and Strugo-Krasnensky municipal districts.

The Pskov Yabloko considers the courts’ decisions that were on the removal of Yabloko candidates lists unlawful and reflecting extra-procedural interference in the activities of the courts by some unidentified persons. Yabloko Chairman Nikolai Rybakov demanded from the Chairman of the Higher Judges’ Qualifications Board of the Russian Federation, Nikolai Timoshin, to establish these persons.

It should be noted that when considering the claims of representatives of the Party of Growth, A Just Russia and the Party of Pensioners, judges from different district courts wrote seven judicial acts of the same content, in which they established the circumstances of the cases in the same way and motivated their conclusions in the same way. Seven different district public prosecutors read out seven identical texts of opinions in seven sessions of seven different courts.

At the same time, none of the arguments of Yabloko, refuting the position of the plaintiffs from pro-government parties, based on the norms of federal legislation, did not receive a substantive, motivated assessment from the courts in any of the decisions. These circumstances indicate the presence of coordinated actions to judicially legitimise illegal methods of political struggle.

Unfortunately, the Pskov Regional Court did not use its powers to restore the rule of law in the region, and this demosntrates a deep crisis in the judicial system.

The Pskov Yabloko notes that the courts in the Pskov region participated in the obstructing the legitimate political work of the Yabloko party, a precedent is being created for the destruction of the common understanding and application of the norms of the federal laws “On Political Parties”, “On Public Associations”, “On Basic Guarantees of the Electoral Rights of Citizens,” the practices of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation is denied and the norms of the By-Laws of the Yabloko party are completely distorted.

The Pskov Yabloko will appeal in cassation all seven court decisions, which Yabloko considers completely unlawful.

Also the complaint of the Pskov Yabloko against the decisions of the Nevelsky District Court and the Pskov Regional Court in the case of refusal to certify the single list of the Yabloko party candidates in the elections of deputies of the Assembly of Deputies of the Nevelsky District of the first convocation is at the stage of cassation.

All the cases will be brought by the Pskov Yabloko to the courts of higher instances. The fight against lawlessness and illegal court decisions is part of the political work of the Yabloko party. Everything possible and necessary is being done to protect the rights of party candidates and the rights of voters.

The Pskov Yabloko continues to conduct campaigns for 13 candidates nominated and registered in single-mandate constituencies in ten districts of the Pskov region.