Novosibirsk police demanded 2.8 million rubles from supporters of Navalny for work at the January protest

The Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Novosibirsk Region filed a lawsuit against local oppositionists for working at a January rally in support of the founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) Alexei Navalny. About it reported one of the defendants, assistant to the deputy of the local city council Daniil Markelov. Claim card there is on the website of the Zheleznodorozhny District Court.

According to Markelov, the police are demanding 2.8 million rubles for their work at the Sunday action. In addition to the deputy’s assistant on the court’s website, the defendants are ex-head of Navalny’s local headquarters Sergei Boyko, former employee of the organization Elena Noskovets, assistant to the deputy of the city council Anton Kartavin Natalya Pozdnyakova, member of the Coalition 2020 Vyacheslav Yakimenko and former State Duma deputy Arkady Yankovsky.

At the beginning of the month, the Tutaevsky City Court of the Yaroslavl Region obliged the former coordinator of the local Navalny headquarters, Alexander Smirnov, to pay 448,810 rubles for the work of the police at the protest on January 31: 387,868 rubles – for the security forces to go to work and 60,942 rubles – for the spent fuel for service vehicles. Another 296 thousand rubles were collected from the former coordinator of the local Navalny headquarters, Elena Lekiashvili, writes Mediazona.

The security forces filed lawsuits against the opposition because of overtime work in other regions, for example, in Penza, Kirov, Chelyabinsk, Omsk and Kemerovo regions, as well as in Bashkiria.

On January 23 and 31, as well as on February 2, rallies were held throughout Russia in support of the arrested opposition politician Alexei Navalny. The authorities immediately responded to the protests with open and widespread repression, including searches and mass administrative arrests. In total, more than 11 thousand people were detained in connection with the actions in support of Navalny. In Moscow alone, over 1250 people were subjected to administrative arrest in a month for taking part in protests. Also, about 90 criminal cases were initiated: about attacks on security officials, hooliganism, damage to property, blocking roads, violation of sanitary and epidemiological rules and involvement of minors in illegal actions.

In June, the Moscow City Court recognized the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), the Foundation for the Protection of Citizens’ Rights and the headquarters of Alexei Navalny as extremist organizations. A law was also passed prohibiting those involved in the work of extremist organizations from participating in elections.