11:34, 18 March 2004

Court imposes fine on organizer of antiwar picket

On March 16, the Meschansky District Court of Moscow considered an administrative case against executive director of the Movement for Human Rights Lev Ponomarev, who was one of the organizers of the February 23 antiwar picket timed to the 60th anniversary of the deportation of the Chechen people ordered by Stalin. The picket was banned by the authorities. Proceeding from the fact that "Ponomarev, as the organizer, was not given permission to hold the meeting," Judge Oksana Suleymanova found him guilty of breaking the established order of arranging the meeting and imposed a penalty of 1,000 rubles on him as a punishment. This decision will be appealed by Ponomarev's lawyer Karina Moskalenko in the Moscow City Court within the next few days.

Editors note: See also the article "Administrative cases against antiwar picket organizers considered in court".

Source: Russian Radicals movement