On 5/9 a court in Chechnya sentenced journalist Zhalaudi Geriev, who worked for Caucasian Knot, to three years in prison on dubious drug possession charges. On 7/9 investigators in Moscow filed extremism charges against the rapper David Nuriev for allegedly insulting members of an anti-narcotics group at a Moscow concert. On 7/9 Amnesty International declared Ruslan Sokolovsky, a blogger from Ekaterinburg in pre-trial detention and facing up to five years’ imprisonment for a video he published of himself playing Pokemon GO in a church, a prisoner of conscience. On 8/9 Sokolovsky was moved to house arrest. On 12/9 Elena Kostyuchenko, a journalist attacked this month in Beslan while attending memorial services to mark the 12th anniversary of the tragedy, said her injuries were more serious than had been thought. On 19/9 a Siberian court banned BlueSystem.ru, a popular LGBT news sites. On 19/9 prosecutors asked a Moscow court to jail blogger Anton Nosik for two years for inciting hatred. On 20/9 opposition journalist Aleksandr Sotnik said he had left Russia for fear of his life. On 21/9 dissident artist Oleg Vorotnikov, detained in Prague on 18/9 and facing possible extradition to Russia, was released from custody. On 27/9 journalist Grigory Pasko was attacked in Barnaul, Altai region. On 29/9 reports said state-owned oil giant Rosneft is suing RBC for more than 3.1bn roubles ($49.2m) in libel damages for an April 2016 article it published about CEO Igor Sechin.

Right of association 

On 5/9 independent polling agency Levada Centre was labelled a ‘foreign agent’ by the justice ministry. On 5/9 the justice ministry began an audit of International Memorial Society to determine whether it should be designated a ‘foreign agent.’ On 14/9 North Caucasus Environmental Watchdog, an NGO involved in battling wildfires, was labelled a ‘foreign agent.’

Right of assembly 

On 2/9 five mothers of children killed in the Beslan tragedy on 3/9/04 were sentenced to community work or fined for a silent protest. On 19/9 Moscow police detained US citizen Ariella Katz near Red Square for a protest in support of jailed activist Ildar Dadin. On 27/9 police detained Roman Roslovtsev on Red Square as he protested against restrictions on the right of assembly.

Elections 

On 19/9 election monitoring NGO Golos said the parliamentary elections on 18/9 were ‘far from truly free and fair.’ The OSCE said elections were marred by restrictions on fundamental rights. On 22/9 Aleksei Navalny called on Central Election Commission chief Ella Pamfilova to resign over alleged voting fraud. On 27/9 St Petersburg journalist Denis Korotkov was charged with electoral fraud after filming himself taking part in vote-rigging.

North Caucasus 

On 5/9 authorities said two militants involved in terrorist attacks, and one security officer, were killed in Magaramkent, Dagestan. On 16/9 Dagestan prosecutors said were investigating reports of female genital mutilation. On 26/9 Ravil Kaibaliyev, deputy imam of a mosque in Stavropol region, was shot dead by unknown assailants.

Crimea 

On 1/9 Roskomnadzor blocked the Ukraine Crisis Media Centre over a press conference given by Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemiliev. On 7/9 Crimean Tatar activist Ilmi Umerov, a former leader of the Crimean Tatars' Mejlis charged with separatism, was released from a psychiatric hospital where he had been forcibly held in conditions he said were a threat to his health. Prior to the elections, rights groups said authorities were using intimidation to get out the vote. On 20/9 a Simferopol court fined Aleksei Shestakovych 1,000 roubles for a video he reposted 4 years before Russia occupied Crimea. The same day another court rejected his appeal against a 20,000 rouble fine for a peaceful picket. On 29/9 the Supreme Court upheld the decision of a Crimean court to ban the Mejlis.