“Apology of protest”: the laws on rallies unconstitutional in 44 regions of Russia

Outright ban on rallies near government offices operates in 44 regions of Russia, contrary to the ruling of the constitutional court of the Russian Federation and the basic law of the country. This is stated in the telegram-channel “apologia protest.”

According to human rights activists, most regions have established “antimitingovyh zone” around the buildings of government agencies at a distance of from 5 to 250 meters. In 15 regions, a ban for rallies (processions, demonstrations and gatherings) in the territories “directly adjoining to buildings of” state and municipal authorities.

“In the Tomsk region authorities have defended the meetings, only the administration of the region, setting a 100-meter area. In the Astrakhan region it is impossible to hold rallies closer than 150 meters from the official residence of the Governor. The biggest forbidden radius established authority of Kamchatskiy Krai is 250 metres away. In YNAO the ban on rallies near the state and municipal authorities were the only regional restricted place” — indicates “apology of protest.”

Territorial restrictions on mass actions near the bodies of state power, according to the “Apology of protest”, has introduced: Altai Krai, Amur oblast, Arkhangelsk oblast, Astrakhan oblast, Belgorod oblast, Bryansk oblast, Volgograd region, Vologda region, Voronezh region, Kabardino-Balkaria, Kaliningrad oblast, Kaluga oblast, Kamchatka Krai, Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Kemerovo oblast, Kostroma oblast, Krasnodar Krai, Kurgan oblast, Leningrad oblast, Magadan oblast, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Novgorod oblast, Novosibirsk oblast, Oryol oblast, Pskov oblast, Republic of Adygeya (Adygeya), Republic of Bashkortostan, Republic of Dagestan, Komi Republic, Republic of North Ossetia — Alania, Republic of Tatarstan (Tatarstan), Ryazan oblast, Saint Petersburg, Saratov oblast, Sverdlovsk oblast, Sevastopol, Smolensk oblast, Tver oblast, Tomsk oblast, Tula oblast, Republic of Udmurtia, Ulyanovsk region, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug — Yugra, the Chuvash Republic — Chuvashia.

In early November the Russian constitutional court found unconstitutional imposed by the authorities of Komi the ban to hold rallies and pickets in 50 meters from buildings of state agencies. This resolution has been adopted, having considered the appeal of two residents of Syktyvkar, which the authorities refused to register the shares.

The COP considered that the introduction of such restrictions is beyond the scope of the powers of the authorities of Russia’s regions. The court noted that Federal law governing the conduct of meetings and other peaceful actions, does not give regional officials the right of introducing “abstract prohibitions that have primary law-making character.” The regional authorities are not entitled to arbitrarily limit the conduct of meetings and to adopt normative-legal acts “distorting the very essence of” secured by the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the Federal laws of human rights.

In this regard, from the state Council of the Komi Republic was required to amend governing the conduct of public actions of law. In addition, the decision of the constitutional court means that should be repealed similar rules in other regions of the country.

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