The court of cassation has overturned the arrest of a Kazan activist for laying flowers in memory of Nemtsov.

On 5 August, the Sixth Court of Cassation in Samara overturned the decisions of the lower courts regarding the protocol on violation of rules for holding a public event (part 2, article 20.2 of the Administrative Code) against Kazan activist Zulfiya Sitdikova, and sent the case back for a new hearing. This was reported by the Respublika telegraph channel.

Sitdikova was detained on 27 February when she and other activists laid flowers in memory of Boris Nemtsov. That same evening, a protocol was drawn up against her for violating the rules for holding a public event, and the next day she was given a 10-day administrative arrest. The arrest was later upheld by the Supreme Court of Tatarstan.

In May 2024, Sitdikova was given a two-year suspended sentence with a four-year probation period under charges of repeat “discrediting the army” (part 1, article 280.3 of the Criminal Code) and “rehabilitation of Nazism” (part 3, article 354.1 of the Criminal Code), for banners reading “No to war” and “9 wая.”

In August 2025, the court is due to consider replacing her suspended sentence with a real prison term because she was held administratively liable again after sentencing. In June this year, she was fined 80,000 roubles (approx US$900) under the protocol for “discrediting the army” with calls for unsanctioned rallies (part 2, article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). According to the court, Sitdikova had photographed a person in Kazan—a major city on the Volga—with a poster reading “No way forward, it’s time to turn back,” and then published the photo in an anonymous Telegram channel.

The activist was detained at the end of May 2023, but released from the police station without a protocol; she did not conduct any picket. On 18 July, it emerged that, following this detention, a criminal case for “discrediting the army” was opened against Sitdikova, her home was searched, and she was subsequently released. The case also includes another episode, linked to a “No to war” banner left by the Eternal Flame in Kazan’s Victory Park.