Press Release, 14.12.2015

Trials over five defenders of the Constitution will take place in the Tverskoy Court, Moscow, today. All the five were detained at the action in defence of the Russian Constitution in Pushkin Square, Moscow, on Saturday (the Russian Constitution Day).

All the five are facing at arrest for up to 15 days under Article 19.3 of the Administrative Violations Code (disobedience to the lawful demands of a police officer). However, the judge has the right to impose a fine or even acquit the activists.

Anton Antonov-Ovseyenko was ordered to appear in court by 10:00, but the police still has not submitted the file to court.

The trial over YABLOKO leader Sergei Mitrokhin is scheduled for 14:00, YABLOKO activist Igor Bakirov will stand before court at 15:00.

Time of trials over two other activists held for two days in the police department Meshchansky – Grigory Semenov, Deputy Chairman of the Moscow branch of YABLOKO and Moscow municipal deputy, and activist Stanislaus Beliansky – is not yet known.

Sergei Mitrokhin and YABLOKO activists stood in pickets in Pushkin Square on the Constitution Day. Participants of the action were holding posters with the slogan resembling that of Soviet human rights activists who came on this very square 50 years ago, on December 5, 1965: “Respect Our Constitution!” Activists replaced each other, passing the poster from hand to hand. Thus, the action could not be considered as a mass action it was one-person picketing which does not require any permissions from the authorities.