Human rights activists protesting against pressure on NGOs in front of FSB building to be fined

The human rights activists arrested yesterday on the Lubyanka Square will pay a fine for approaching the Russian FSB building, reports the "Novy Region." According to the reports from the Meschanski district militia station where the offenders were brought yesterday following their arrest, the participants in the action were released after militia reports were compiled. The reports will be passed over to the court which is to define their measure of punishment. Most probably, it is going to be a fine for violating the procedure of holding meetings.

Alexander Guryanov, activist of the "Memorial" centre, reports that the militia officers were communicating with the human rights activists during their stay at the militia station on friendly terms. Guryanov has an impression that the prolonged detainment is explained by the fact that the militia officers did not know how to justify the detainment in the report on administrative offence. "What they demonstrated was either some kind of confusion or incompetence," related the human rights activist.

For reference, 16 persons were detained by the riot squad officers when human rights activists were holding an unauthorized picket in protection of non-government organizations in front of the RF FSB building on the Lubyanka Square in Moscow.

Most picketers gathered about 17.00 near the "Solovki Boulder", a memorial to victims of political repressions on the Lubyanka Square where the action was permitted by the prefecture of the capital's Central Administrative Okrug, and then moved to the entrance into the RF FSB reception where the picket was officially prohibited.

By 17.00, the participants in the action moved to the FSB central building. The approach to the reception was blocked by metal fencing and a few militia officers. As a result, pedestrians had to pass the fenced pavement by the roadway on the Lubyanka Square. Militiamen told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the pavement was fenced in connection with snow removal on the building roof, which was confirmed by snow falling from above. In connection with this fact, the action of protest had to be held at the corner of the building.

As was planned, the picket lasted for one hour, from 17.00 till 18.00. The human rights activists and representatives of democratic and left-wing forces, who joined them, carried the posters "We do not need a controlled democracy, we need a living civil society," "FSB, stop lying," "Hands off human rights protection," "Chekists have always called human rights activists foreign spies," etc. All in all, about 100 activists took part in the action, according to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Detainment of picketers looked unusual for such events. In the course of the event, the riot squad officers, mainly junior lieutenants, periodically detained several demonstrators and brought them, along with their posters, to special buses, not trying to break up the picket itself. First, approximately five minutes after the action started, five members of the "Left Turn" group and "Yabloko" youth group were detained. Among the first detainees was also Lev Ponomaryov, leader of the "For Human Rights" movement. Then, with up to ten minutes' pauses, two or three riot squad officers approached the picket left flank and individually detained two or three more participants holding posters. The picketers tried to resist the detainment of their comrades without violence and chanted: "Shame."