Petersburg prosecutor’s office demands to ban the movement “Spring”

Petersburg prosecutor's office demands to ban the movement "Spring"

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Petersburg Prosecutor’s Office applied to the court with a demand to recognize the Vesna movement as extremist and ban it. According to the department, the movement creates conditions for destabilizing the social and socio-political situation in Russia, and “public opinion is being formed about the need to change power in the Russian Federation.” The claim has not yet been accepted. However, the city’s prosecutor, Viktor Melnyk, said that he was suspending the movement’s activities without waiting for a court decision. For the movement, this will mean a ban on holding rallies, participation in elections and the use of bank deposits (with the exception of paying fines).

In his Telegram channel the movement replied to the prosecutor’s office that neither it nor the court had the ability to actually stop its work. “Yes, we are for the change of power in the country. The only force that destabilizes the social and political situation in the country and undermines the foundations of the constitutional order is Putin’s regime. We only demanded to comply with the Constitution, which states that the government must change, ”the message says. “Stay with us. Fight for freedom and democracy. Spring is inevitable!” concluded the movement.

In May 2022, Roskomnadzor blocked the Vesna website. Then the movement connected this with the action on May 9 “They did not fight for this.” Citizens of Russia were encouraged to join the “immortal regiments” and sign photos of participants in the Great Patriotic War with anti-war slogans.

In parallel with the decision of the prosecutor’s office to go to court, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow extended the measure of restraint for the leaders of Vesna, Valentin Khoroshenin and Yevgeny Zateev. They are assigned a ban on certain activities until December 11. They and several other activists are suspects in a criminal case on participation in the activities of an organization that encroaches on the life and health of citizens (part 3 of article 239 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

“Spring” was created as a youth movement in 2013 through the union in St. Petersburg of “Youth Yabloko”, “Defence” and “Solidarity”. Initially, “Spring” was called “Young Democrats”, speaking out, among other things, against the “law of Dima Yakovlev.” The movement is not officially registered, has no public leaders, and coordinates supporters in social networks, criticizing the SVO in Ukraine, organizing spontaneous rallies and marches. After the start of the military operation in Ukraine, he became one of the main organizers of anti-war protests in Russia, including rallies against partial mobilization on September 21 and 24. According to OVD-Info (recognized as a foreign agent), at least 614 people were detained in St. Petersburg itself, more than 1,300 and more than 700 throughout Russia on September 21 and 24, respectively. The Ministry of Internal Affairs did not name the number of protesters and the number of detainees.

Oleg Dilimbetov, St. Petersburg; Maria Starikova

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