I Won a Case in Court

The Moscow City Court ruled that my 13-days-long detention in May was illegal. Men in plainclothes arrested me while I was walking on the street before a Dissenters’ March planned for May 6. Without explaining anything, they put me and several dozens of other activists in am armored truck and brought us to a police station.

The next day I was sentenced to 13 days in jail for “disobeying police orders”, the sentence was based on controversial and false documents and perjury from an OMON sergeant. Neither testimonies by numerous witnesses, nor photos of my arrest didn’t change the sentence: the judge simply ignored it. Ironically, this farce was taking place at the same time as Dmitry Medvedev was addressing the importance of rule of law in his inaugurational speech.

I started a hunger strike in protest. Police tried to hide my location and denied my attorney to see me. Opposition activists held pickets and painted graffiti in my support. They even organized a celebration of my birthday, which I had to celebrate in jail. After I was released, I spent several days in hospital due to health problems because of the hunger strike.

Now, I’ve been acquitted. However, this doesn’t mean that the story won’t repeat again on a next rally.

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FSB vs. bloggers

Below is my latest column for RobertAmsterdam.com dedicated to Dmitry Soloviev’s case and attempts of the FSB to crack down on bloggers.

FSB: a Final Solution for Bloggers

Dmitry Soloviev, a leader of the Oborona youth movement in Kemerovo region, faces criminal charges for criticizing the “siloviki” in a LiveJournal blog. He is accused by the regional prosecutor of posting information that “incites hatred, hostility and degrades a social group of people—the police and FSB”. According to the anti-extremist legislation introduced in 2006 (more specifically, the infamous paragraph 282 of the Criminal Code), he may face up to two years imprisonment if convicted.