Holy books International Courts Kolokoltsev Vitishko Sentsov, Kolchenko Ukraine flag Savchenko Zavarkin Kholodov Charlie Hebdo Wikipedia Turkey | Legislation / Government On 24/11 President Putin signed into force a law exempting certain holy books from branding as extremist. (RFE/RL, 24/11) On 26/11 a State Duma Committee recommended the Duma adopt in first reading a bill to give the Constitutional Court powers to stop implementation of international courts’ rulings in Russia. (RAPSI, 26/11) On 26/11 NTV broadcast remarks by Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev justifying restriction of civil rights if security considerations demand it. (The Moscow Times, 27/11) High profile cases On 23/11 Evgeny Vitishko declared a hunger strike in protest at moves by prosecutors who had challenged steps towards his release on parole. (HRO.org, 26/11) On 24/11 the military division of the Russian Supreme Court upheld the verdict against Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov and his associate Aleksandr Kolchenko, sentenced to prison terms of 20 and 10 years respectively. (The Moscow Times, 24/11) On 25/11 a Moscow court sentenced three activists to 10 days in jail for attaching a Ukrainian flag to a landmark Stalin-era skyscraper on 23/11. (The Moscow Times, 25/11) On 25/11 a criminal case for contempt of court was lodged against Vera Savchenko. sister of captured Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko currently on trial. (The Moscow Times, 25/11) On 27/11 Vladimir Zavarkin, a deputy in Suoyarvi, Karelia, was fined 30,000 roubles ($450) for “inciting separatism”. (The Moscow Times, 27/11) Assaults On 24/11 unidentified assailants attacked St. Petersburg activist and journalist Aleksandr Kholodov. (The Moscow Times, 24/11) Freedom of expression On 24/11 a court in Chechnya blocked access to the Twitter account of Charlie Hebdo, accusing it of insulting believers' feelings and lampooning the downing of a Russian passenger plane over Sinai. (The Moscow Times, 25/11) On 27/11 Russian Wikipedia said it had indefinitely suspended an editor who organized a meeting with Russian authorities to agree to closer cooperation on 'socially sensitive' entries. (The Moscow Times, 27/11) Freedom of movement On 26/11 RBC news agency reported approximately 30 Turkish citizens have been denied entry into Russia recently. (The Moscow Times, 26/11) |