Valery Fadeev, head of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights (HRC) under the President of the Russian Federation, said that he did not see any violations in the detention of participants in illegal actions. He announced this on Saturday, January 23, to the Podyom newspaper.
“These actions are illegal. Not only are they not coordinated, but they pass during the period of epidemics. Of course, we must talk about the illegality of the actions, not about detentions. I don’t see any violation at all. Is this the first arrests with us? These are not the first uncoordinated rallies. Usually it ends with the fact that they draw up an act on an administrative offense and release, ”Fadeev said.
He expressed confidence that in the absence of provocations and clashes with the police, the detainees would be released after drawing up an act on violation of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
In addition, the head of the HRC called on to investigate the campaigning and involvement of minors in participating in unauthorized actions. He called this activity “disgusting” and “irresponsible.”
“Disgusting story. This requires investigation. Because the scale of the TikTok campaign, primarily encouraging minors to come out to these promotions, is very serious. Internet experts say that in order to launch such a campaign, it takes a lot of money or help from the platform, this is a very serious operation, ”he concluded.
On the same day, a member of the HRC Alexander Brod said that law enforcement officers behaved correctly with the illegal participants on Saturday 23 January in Moscow. Brod added that HRC representatives are closely following events at uncoordinated rallies across the country.
In different cities of Russia on January 23, uncoordinated actions take place. Several dozen people were detained in Moscow and St. Petersburg, including children. One of the detainees is a 17-year-old girl who handed out leaflets. According to the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in Moscow, about 4 thousand people gathered on Pushkinskaya Square in the capital for an unauthorized event.
On the eve of the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on the involvement of minors in illegal actions on the facts of calls to participate in protest actions.
The day before, the hashtag #ChildrenVnePolitiki was launched on the Internet in order to ensure the safety of minors in connection with calls for unauthorized actions.
Also, the Prosecutor General’s Office demanded to restrict access to websites that publish calls for teenagers to take part in illegal actions on January 23.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia said that they would investigate and give a legal assessment of the facts of provocations or disobedience to the demands of law enforcement officials at unauthorized rallies on January 23.