Three legal cases brought against Novosibirsk protester over call for Putin’s resignation
Maxim Matosov, a resident of Novosibirsk, was charged with three administrative offenses for holding up a poster calling for Putin’s resignation, Sibir.Realii reports.
On March 20, the same day he came out with the poster, Matosov was detained and charged with two administrative offenses. The first one was a violation of pandemic safety rules (Article 20.6.1 of the Administrative Code), the second one — violation of the rules of participation in a public event (Section 5 of Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code). On 19 April the man was detained at home and taken to the police station where a third report was drawn up for the failure to obey the police officers (Article 19.3 of the Administrative Code). Matosov said it was his fifth detention since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
«The first time I was detained at the February 27 anti-war picket, I was holding the same banner which said, «Putin should resign.» The second time was on March 6, when I didn’t even participate in the protest. On March 13 and 20, I went to solo pickets against Putin, who had started the war as the country’s commander-in-chief. Each time I was charged under the anti-COVID article, and the last time I was charged under 20.2,» Sibir.Realii quotes Matosov as saying.
Since the first day of the war against Ukraine, participants of various anti-war rallies have been detained throughout Russia. Everyone who calls for peace in one way or another has become an offender. Thus, on April 2, a man was detained in Moscow for holding up a package of Miratorg ham, with the second half of the brand name crossed out. On March 28 a man was detained near Lubyanka metro station in Moscow for holding up a «Mir» bank card. On April 18, police officers in Izhevsk pronounced a circle dance to the song «Let there always be sunshine» an anti-war rally.
