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Human rights council members says law on abuse at rallies unconstitutional

They are extremely worried over the risk the new law may prove a tool of arbitrariness and unreasonable violence instead of protecting the rights of citizens

MOSCOW, June 8 (Itar-Tass) — A group of members of the presidential council for the development of civil society and human rights argues that the law, awaiting the president’s signature, which tightens punishment for hypothetical abuse at public rallies, disagrees with the international liabilities, the Constitution and other laws of the Russian Federation.

As follows from the statement published on the council’s official website the fines established by the law “are equivalent to the annual earnings of most citizens, or exceed them several-fold.”

The Council’s members make the following conclusion: “the fines pursue the sole aim of intimidating those who exercise their constitutional right to the freedom of peace assembly.”

They are extremely worried over the risk the new law may prove a tool of arbitrariness and unreasonable violence instead of protecting the rights of citizens.

The statement was signed by Lyudmila Alexeyeva, Lev Ambinder, Sergei Vorobyov, Valentin Gefter, Alexei Golovan, Kirill Kabanov, Sergei Krivenko, Fyodor Lukyanov, Tamara Morshchakova, Dmitry Oreshkin, Sergei Tsyplyonkov and Igor Yurgens.

Oreshkin and Lukyanov earlier declared their walkout from the human rights council. At the moment the council has 27 members.

On June 6 the Federation Council approved of a law the State Duma had voted for the day before that is introducing differentiated fines for legal abuse at rallies, such as violations of the established rules of holding the public event, the presence of drunk teenagers, abuse of alcohol and beer by persons under age, abuse of drugs in public places, obstruction of traffic, etc. The maximum fine individuals is set at 300,000 rubles, and for officials, 600,000 rubles.

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