Stanislav Zimovets was sentenced to 2.5 months in prison for violent conduct towards a police officer at an anti-corruption rally in Moscow on 26 March. Source: VKontakte.
We continue our partnership with OVD-Info, an NGO that monitors politically-motivated arrests in Russia. Every Friday, we bring you the latest information on freedom of assembly.
Stanislav Zimovets, a defendant in the 26 March case, has been sentenced to 2.5 years in a general-regime prison colony. The prosecution had asked for three years. Stanislav Zimovets was charged with using force against a police officer during a rally against corruption. An OVD-Info correspondent attended the final court hearings in the case and we have published her article that includes Stanislav Zimovets’ final words in court, the arguments of the defence and the prosecution, and also a description of the unforgettable atmosphere in the courtroom.
This week the Russian police and the Investigative Committee refused to open an investigation into assaults on journalists. In Orenburg, a pro-Kremlin activist explained that he had attacked a journalist because he had toothache, and police officers would agree only to make an official record of part of the journalist’s complaint. Meanwhile, in Petrozavodsk, the Investigative Committee refused to bring charges against a police officer who assaulted a journalist working for the online-journal Chernika at the 26 March rally against corruption. During the rally the police officer struck the journalist in the face, breaking his glasses. At the time the journalist was wearing a press badge on his chest. And the attacks continue. In Moscow, assailants sprayed an acrid gas of unknown chemical composition into the home of journalist Yulia Latynina.
