Press Release, 28.03.2017

The party renders legal assistance to protesters in Moscow and Russian regions.

On 26 March, demonstrations and rallies against corruption were held across the country, many of such actions ended in the detention of participants. Moscow demonstrated a record high number of detainees – over 1,000 people. There is a large number of minors in the police stations. YABLOKO, along with human rights organisations, calls for the release of detainees and provides them legal assistance.

Photo by kommersant.ru

Grigory Yavlinsky, Chairman of the Federal Political Committee of YABLOKO, made a statement demanding to immediately release the protesters. “Judging by what we and the whole country could see on the place and via broadcasting, there were mass detentions without any grounds. Hundreds of people arrested at random who either did not violate any laws, or whose violations were highly questionable and required more serious evidence, found themselves in police stations,” he wrote. “The political meaning and efficiency of such protests is a separate issue and should not even be discussed now. Today the main thing is to stop the suffering of people. We demand to release Russian citizens detained on 26 March,” Yavlinsky stressed.

Since yesterday, YABLOKO has been helping detainees. Such aid is coordinated by Andrei Babushkin, member of the Regional Council of the Moscow branch of YABLOKO. If you or your loved ones need help, or if you have information about an illegally seized and detained person, please call Boris Mamatov, a public receptionist of the Moscow branch of YABLOKO, tel.: 8 (925) 713-78-99 or 8 (495) 532-30 -14.

Similar aid is provided by the St. Petersburg by the St.Petersburg regional branch of YABLOKO. Victims of the police actions and their relatives can call Anatoly Golov, Deputy Chairman of the YABLOKO branch, tel.: 8 (921) 937-0570, or to the office of the party in the city: tel 275-23-00 (from 12:00 to 21:00).

The Nizhni Novgorod branch of YABLOKO is also helping detainees. Oleg Rodin, Deputy Chairman of the regional branch of the party, participates in court hearings following the March 26 events as detainees’ defender. In Nizhni Novgorod 44 participants were brought to the local police departments, inclkuding five minors, ten people were detained in the police stations over night on March 26 – 27 (they were charged with “disobeying a lawful order of a police officer” and “violation the order of conducting a rally”). All were found guilty and fined from 500 and 10,000 roubles. They will appeal against these decisions. Trials over the rest of the detainees will take place soon. The regional branch of YABLOKO asks all who may possess photo and video records of the detentions to inform Oleg Rodin, e-mail: nnyabloko@gmail.com; tel.: 8 (831) 424-24-93.