In Volgograd, court fines activists of "For Fair Elections" movement

In Volgograd, court fined three activists of the movement "For Fair Elections", who participated in the gathering in the city centre against the decision of the Russian State Duma on increasing fines for participation in mass events. This was reported by Artyom Panenko, the lawyer of the movement "For Fair Elections".

The detainees were brought to the police station, where the protocols were completed. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Artyom Panenko.

"I and Yulia Vlasenko were questioned and released. Four participants of the movement face criminal proceedings instituted under charges of administrative violation; they were charged of violating the order of the mass event under Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation," he has emphasized.

According to him, detained Leonid Makhinya was released from liability, since he had a press card, and each of the other participants of gathering Sergey Mazanov, Nikolai Belikov, and Boris Stikhin was fined for the amount of 800 roubles.

"Sanctions under the article of charges stipulate a fine amounting to 500-1000 roubles, and the court chose the middle," the lawyer stated.

The movement "For Fair Elections" intends to appeal against the decision of the magistrate court. "The court decision states that our members have participated in an unsanctioned gathering," explained Ruslan Alekseev, the activist of the movement. He continued: "According to the Administrative Code, a rally or a picket, and not gathering, can be unsanctioned."