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The Kirovsky District Court in Ufa, a major city in the Urals, has fined 18-year-old local college student Maria (name changed) 30,000 roubles (about US$340) for submitting an application to hold a rally against internet blockings on 12 April. The news was reported by the regional branch of the “Rassvet” party.
On 1 April, the student submitted her application to the administration of Ufa. Afterwards, law enforcement officers arrived at her college, detained her, and took away her phone. On the device, they found a TikTok video featuring the singer Naoko. Because of this, the student was charged under the law on “discrediting” the army (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code).
Maria told OVD-Info she was fined not for the video itself, but for the hashtags under it: #FreeNaoko, #NoToWar, #FreedomForRussia. According to her, following her detention the officers threatened her and hinted at possible problems.
“They threatened that if I didn’t cooperate, they’d give me the maximum fine; that if I didn’t refuse my lawyer, they wouldn’t show me any leniency,” Maria added. She says the officers spoke to her rudely, used foul language, and repeatedly accused her of lying.
The student says she no longer plans to submit applications to hold rallies. After being detained, she was issued a warning and was forced to write a refusal of her application for the 12 April rally.
“I feel more or less okay, but now I’m anxious because me and my group are under increased scrutiny—strange cars keep appearing outside the dormitory,” she told us. She was informed at her college that she might be expelled.
- On 1 April, law enforcement officers also issued a warning against breaking the law to Assol-Anastasia Krepetz, a resident of Veliky Novgorod, a historic city in north-western Russia. She had submitted an application to hold a “For a Free Internet” rally on 12 April to the local administration. City authorities banned the event.