- Freedom of Assembly, News

The court dismissed the case of a pensioner accused of organizing a rally due to the invitation of fellow villagers to a meeting with journalists

In Nizhny Tagil, the court dismissed the case of pensioner Irina Kutsenok, to which a protocol was drawn up due to the invitation of fellow villagers to a meeting with journalists of the Vesti program, the human rights project Apologia Protesta reports. The court decided that there is no composition of offenses in the actions of the pensioner. The administrative case on the organization of an uncoordinated event (part 2 of Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses) has been discontinued.

A resident of the village of Pokrovskoe near Nizhny Tagil decided to appeal to journalists because of the fact that her village had no hot water for two months. The film crew promised to come on August 1. Kustenok hung ads around the village, in which she invited fellow villagers to meet with the journalists.

Later, Vestey’s employees told her that the administration “gave a guarantee” that there will be water on August 3, so the shooting was canceled. The pensioner posted new announcements in the city, informing her that they would carry out pressure tests in the village, after which hot water should appear.

However, on August 1, Kutseniuk nevertheless came to the local club, where a meeting with journalists was to take place. She explained that she had come in case if one of the villagers had questions about hot water.

There, the pensioner was greeted by the head of the Pokrovskaya administration Marina Selskaya and the deputy of the City Duma Alla Semyonova and they began to accuse her of “arranging unauthorized meetings”.