Participants of the picket in memory of Beslan victims condemned in Moscow

Yesterday, September 26, Judge Natalia Dyatlova from the Moscow Magistrate Court District No. 370 delivered her judgment on administrative cases of the participants of the mourning human rights picket held on September 3 this year "In Memory of Beslan Tragedy," which was prohibited and dispersed by the authorities of the capital. The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that 13 persons were then detained. The action should have taken place at the Solovki Boulder in the Lubyanka Square of Moscow, not far from the central FSB (Federal Security Bureau) building. The picket organizers think that this particular influential organization has initiated the ban of their peaceful event.

Lev Ponomaryov, one of the organizers of the picket "In Memory of Beslan Tragedy" and Executive Director of the All-Russian Movement "For Human Rights," was awarded with three days of arrest. Advocate Elena Liptser, Lev Ponomaryov's daughter, said today morning to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the famous human rights defender is serving his punishment at a special reception facility for persons guilty of administrative offences located at 65 Gilyarovskogo Street. According to her, the custody conditions at the facility are satisfactory.

Out of 50 picketers, among them were activists of the Movement "For Human Rights," United Civil Fund, Parties "Yabloko" and Union of Right-Wing Forces, Antiwar Club, Committee for Antiwar Actions and other public organizations, 13 persons were brought to responsibility. All of them were charged of administrative offences under Part 2, Article 20.2, of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation (CoAO RF) (violation of the established procedure of holding a rally, meeting, demonstration, march or picket) and Part 1, Article 19.3, of the CoAO RF (disobedience to legitimate order or demand of a militiaman). As to Ponomaryov, he was presented, as the organizer of the event, apart from disobedience, also charges under Part 1, Article 20.2, of the CoAO RF (violation of the established procedure of organizing a rally, meeting, demonstration, march or picket).

At the trial, the OMON (Special Militia) agents have confirmed that they had detained Lev Ponomaryov under a special order of the OMON commander, and the detainee had nothing in hands but a bouquet of flowers. Despite the fact that the Moscow Mayor's and Prosecutor's Offices found the ban of pickets and demonstrations by Mr. Vasyukov, Deputy Prefect of the Central Administrative District (CAD) of Moscow, to be illegal, the judge ruled that the main Ponomaryov's guilt is that he "knowing in what country we live, organized a picket without having a permit," the Movement "For Human Rights" reports.

Cconsequently, Lev Ponomaryov was awarded a penalty in the form of a fine for breaching the order of organizing a picket and in the form of administrative arrest for three days for disobedience to instructions of militiamen. Mikhail Kriger, participant of the Antiwar Club and member of the editorial board of the web portal VoineNet.Ru, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the remaining participants of the picket were fined to the sums from five hundred to two thousand roubles. As to the charges of disobedience to militiamen, advocate Anna Stavitskaya has explained that the judge decided to confine herself to a warning, stating that the ordinary participants of the action had been under Ponomaryov's influence, who had wrongly informed them about the legality of militiamen's demands. We remind you that the picketers refused to disperse, when this was demanded by representatives of law enforcement bodies," the web site "Human Rights in Russia" informs.

"The judge thinks that whatever paper one has received from the body of the executive power, if it contains a ban, one should not hold a picket and assess the paper from the legality viewpoint, since this is the prerogative power of the court. The person should obey, not to go to the picket, but appeal against the act of the executive body at court," Anna Stavitskaya explained. "We think this ruling to be illegal," she stated. Being Lev Ponomaryov's legal representative, she is going to appeal against his arrest at the District Court today, on September 27.

"It looks like the authorities are sick and tired of the people who go to pickets, and they decided to stop the practice. To convict one to tech a lesson to others," the well-known lady-human rights activist commented to the "Regnum" Agency the fact that for the first time an organizer of this sort of civil action has been sentenced for disobedience to militiamen.

"An arrest of a human rights defender for taking part in a peaceful action, which was properly applied for, is a new phase of interrelations of the power and society. In my opinion, it is an indicator of a very bad trend," Mikhail Kriger, one of the leaders of the movement against the war in Chechnya, said to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"Lev Ponomaryov, who was arrested for the actions aimed at expressing his civil position and fully compliant with the legislation in force, should be regarded to be a prisoner of conscience," runs the press release of the Movement "For Human Rights," which arrived to the editorial board of the "Caucasian Knot."

After announcement of the verdict, Russian Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin called the three-day arrest of Lev Ponomaryov, leader of the Movement "For Human Rights," to be doubtful. Mr. Lukin has explained to the "Interfax" that under the law activists of public organizations may hold a picket by submitting an application, since such actions are of applicatory not of permissive character.

The Human Rights Centre "Memorial" stated yesterday in the evening that Moscow authorities, by having banned and dispersed a peaceful public action, and having then convicted its participants, "have violently broken the law by introducing in fact the permissive order of holding pickets in the capital of Russia."

"We are not going to put up with this situation in our city. Despite the voluntarism and mockeries of bureaucrats, we are going to enjoy our constitutional rights. We intend to defend ourselves and our colleagues by using all the available mechanisms, including the European Court for Human Rights. This is the Court, where first complaints were sent last November, after exhaustion of legal mechanisms in Russia, against the actions Moscow authorities who had banned and dispersed the antifascist picket in Tverskaya Square of Moscow. The Moscow authorities should get ready to consideration of a huge number of such cases in Strasbourg," the "Memorial" statement runs.

We remind you that on August 29 this year, human rights defender Lev Ponomaryov and his colleagues submitted a notification to the Prefect Office of the Central Administrative District of Moscow about their intention to hold a mourning picket "In Memory of Beslan Tragedy" on September 3 in the Lubyanka Square near the Solovki Boulder.

The answer signed by Sergey Vasyukov, Deputy Prefect of the Central Administrative District (CAD) of Moscow, that was received on the same day refused to coordinate the event and offered to change the date of the picket. In this answer, advocate Anna Stavitskaya has stated, the law was broken twice - firstly, the Deputy Prefect has no powers to decide on such issues; and secondly, he gave no grounds for changing the date of the action. Cconsequently, the picket organizers decided not to refuse to hold it. The ban was appealed against to the court.

The arriving participants of the mourning action were met in the Lubyanka Square at the Solovki Boulder by essential militia forces. The picket was dispersed without starting, and a group of participants was detained, the "Regnum" reports.

The main applied aims of the picket were as follows: to pay tribute to the memory of terror victims; to draw attention of the authorities and the public to the necessity of a thorough investigation into all the circumstances of tragic events on September 1-3, 2004, in the town of Beslan, North Ossetia, and of other acts of terror, and a demand to bring to responsibility the officials guilty of negligence and abuse of service powers entailing death of over 330 hostages and members of special agencies in Beslan.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has reported earlier that at the press conference held on September 1 the leaders of the Movement "For Human Rights," "Yabloko" and Union of Right-Wing Forces (URWF) stated that the ban by the Prefect Office of the CAD of Moscow of the human rights picket "In Memory of Beslan Tragedy" on September 3 in the Lubyanka Square of the capital, the notification of which had been submitted to CAD Prefect Sergey Baidakov by representatives of the Movement "For Human Rights" and Committee of Antiwar Actions, is illegal. Evgeniy Ikhlov, one of the leaders of the Movement "For Human Rights," reported that there was even another court ruling on a similar incident running that according to the law the city authorities have no right "not to coordinate" this sort of public event.