On 7 December, the first sentence under a new law to limit freedom of association was passed. For activist Ildar Dadin, 33, his commitment to protest has led to a three-year prison sentence. The next day, Vladimir Ionov, a Moscow pensioner, was also due to face sentencing under the same law, but fell ill the next morning. Ionov is currently in intensive care, and the sentencing has been postponed.
This new addition to Russia’s Criminal Code, Article 212.1, was introduced in summer 2014 in response to the events in Ukraine. It carries a potential sentence of up to five years or a million rouble fine (£9,300).
Judging by the courts’ current behaviour, cases are opened under this article after an activist receives three administrative sentences for breaking rules on holding pickets and demonstrations. Instead of a fourth administrative charge, though, a criminal case is opened. By which point, the accused has usually built up a significant amount of administrative fines, and sometimes days spent in police stations.
