Draft amendments to the law about meetings, rallies, demonstrations, marches and pickets have attracted attention primarily because they further undercut the civil rights of car drivers.
The bill was introduced as a panicky reaction to the “blue bucket” movement against drivers that use migalki, blue lights fixed to the roofs of cars that allow them to flaunt traffic laws. The bill has a few extra points tacked on that are not related to the blue bucket problem but will give the state organs extra ways to oppress the population.
So, be sure to notify the authorities of the use of any vehicle, such as using a truck as a platform for announcements or just one car with a banner at the head of a procession. Furthermore, the human rights of demonstrators who use vehicles are curtailed strongly in comparison with demonstrators on foot.
Someone who has been subjected to administrative punishment for violating the rules surrounding public events can never be the organizer of a public event. At the same time, it is unclear how much or how long this disenfranchisement will be active. When, for instance, can an official warning be considered withdrawn? Administrative “previous convictions,” in contrast to criminal convictions, are not removed by formal procedure after a certain period has passed.
The police will not have to catch the activists one by one — the rule applies not only to individuals but also to organizations, parties and public associations. It is convenient: It is a warning to, for example, the Russian Orthodox Church that they could be called up for bad organization of processions or for having more participants than indicated in the application, and it will be possible to reject applications for processions of believers calmly. However, something tells me that the ROC is not threatened by this affront. But organizations less close to the government should be getting worried.
The author is director of the Institute of Law Enforcement at the European University of St. Petersburg.