In July 2019, thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the dismissal of independent candidates running in the Moscow city elections.
The media was filled with images of arbitrary and brutal arrests by city police. In the aftermath, the focus switched to the city’s courtrooms, where protesters were charged with offences that human rights organisations did not recognise.
Earlier that month, the Moscow election commission decided to invalidate signatures collected in support of opposition candidates, disqualifying nearly 30 of them from running in the 9 September election. In response, opposition supporters organised weeks of protests - from single pickets to larger actions - in the city. For many people, the exclusion of the independent candidates was a step too far.
