Posted 2 августа 2021,, 09:29

Published 2 августа 2021,, 09:29

Modified 24 декабря 2022,, 22:37

Updated 24 декабря 2022,, 22:37

The Ministry of Internal Affairs obliged the organizers of the rallies to report on the sources of funding

The Ministry of Internal Affairs obliged the organizers of the rallies to report on the sources of funding

2 августа 2021, 09:29
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation approved an order, according to which the organizers of the rallies will have to submit a financial report on its results within 45 days after its holding.

The report will need to indicate the amount of funds collected for its implementation, as well as a list of expenses indicating contractors and types of services provided, for example, if an event required to mount a stage or rent sound equipment. The costs of holding a meeting will need to be confirmed with copies of payment documents. Unspent funds will need to be returned to the donor. If the money came from an anonymous source, it should be turned into state revenue.

According to Kommersant, the need to account for the holding of public actions of more than 500 people was enshrined in legislation at the end of last year. Amendments were made to the law "meetings, rallies, demonstrations, processions and pickets". However, the reporting forms were not approved at that time.

The organizers of the rallies fear that the innovations will scare away the suppliers of equipment, without which a mass rally cannot be held. This will lead to a reduction in the number of protesters.

"This order, like the December amendments to the law, makes the procedure for approving a public action more complicated. A procedure for collecting and returning funds is emerging, and separate administrative liability threatens for violation of it," said Alexander Peredruk, senior partner of the Apology of Protest human rights organization, commenting on the innovation. He added that the European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly noted that the procedure for coordinating rallies with the authorities can be, but it should not be overly bureaucratic".

Yelena Filina, head of the Association of Independent Deputies of Moscow, recalled that even before the introduction of this amendment during the protests in Moscow in 2019, a number of companies that own sound equipment refused to supply equipment for opposition rallies. Now, with the tightening of the rules for their implementation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will finally "remove politics from the streets". "We are actually being driven into yards", - she commented.

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