Court upholds fine for Astrakhan activist

The Astrakhan Regional Court has refused to grant the appeal of Mikhail Anisenko, who was fined by 10,000 roubles after participating in an action to pay tribute to the memory of the victims of political repressions.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 30, 2017, Astrakhan activists, including Mikhail Anisenko, held in Astrakhan a minute of silence in memory of the victims of political repressions and mentioned modern political prisoners. The police drew a protocol against Mikhail Anisenko for failure to observe the distance between the picketers.

Report on the conflict of interests: on October 30, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was summoned, along with other participants of the action, to the police for explanations. Besides, she is a public defender of Mikhail Anisenko.

The Kirov District Court of Astrakhan found Mikhail Anisenko guilty of committing an offense under Part 5 of Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation and fined him by 10,000 roubles.

The activist has claimed that the case against him was fabricated for political reasons and was considered "de facto by the rules of the extraordinary court."

"The court of appeal dismissed all the arguments stated of the appeal, even the fact that at the time when I was brought to administrative responsibility, I was an active member of the precinct election commission (PEC) with the right to a decisive vote," the activist told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. Mikhail Anisenko noted that the prosecutor's consent is required to prosecute a member of the PEC, but it was not received.

The activist has added he had no doubts that the Court would pronounce precisely such decision. Mikhail Anisenko announced his intention to challenge the Court's decision.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.