Law enforcers prevent Sochi woman from laying flowers at monument to repressed people

After Navalny's funeral, Sochi policemen did not allow a local woman to lay flowers at the monument to repression victims, stating that this was only allowed on the Remembrance Day for Victims of Political Repressions; and on other days it is treated as an administrative offence.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 20, Grigory Uchkurov, an activist, said that townspeople brought flowers to a spontaneous memorial to Alexei Navalny created at the monument to victims of political repressions, but policemen regularly removed flowers from there.

On March 2, Sochi policemen did not allow a local woman to lay flowers at the memorial to repression victims, the "7x7"* outlet has reported in its Telegram channel. "She was denied the laying of flowers due to the fact that all commemorative events take place on October 30, when Russia marks the official Remembrance Day of Repression Victims," the outlet reports.

Besides, law enforcers referred to the law, stating that flowers would be regarded as "household waste disposal in a wrong place."

"The woman took the flowers to another monument. It was also guarded by policemen. They allowed flowers to be laid, but did not answer whether they would be thrown away," the outlet has reported.

Neither federal nor regional legislation prohibits laying flowers at any time, an author of the post placed in the Telegram channel of the "Sota" outlet, has stated.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.