11 July 2006, St Petersburg G8 Summit

Activists detained for protesting against nuclear waste

Send urgent protests!

CWI supporters, Russia

There are widespread reports of anti-globalistion activists and socialists intending to travel to the G8 protests in Petersburg facing police visits and harassment.

Two CWI supporters already in Petersburg were taken into police custody, earlier today. Please act urgently on the case (details below).

Victoria Gromova and Natalia Zvyagina (a CWI member and a CWI sympathiser from the Russian city of Voronezh) were taken into police custody, earlier today, in St Petersburg, with seven others, for demonstrating against nuclear waste dumping in Russia.

Victoria and Natalya are key members of the Legal Team established to provide legal advice and assistance to protesters attending the Russian Social Forum, which will be held during the G8 summit.

By these actions, and from widespread reports of police harassment of activists across Russia, it is clear the Putin government aims to try to intimidate protesters over the next few days of the G8 summit.

12 July 2006, St Petersburg G8 Summit

Police harass Russian socialists

Putin government shows its intentions

CWI reporters, Russia

In the lead up to the G8 summit in St Petersburg, the Russian police are stepping up harassment of anti-globalisation protesters and socialists.

People making their way to St Petersburg are facing big problems. For example, a couple of weeks ago, CWI activists in Yaraslavl city were taken to a police station for “preventative questioning” and warned not to “misbehave”.

This week, people started to travel to the G8 protests. There were several cases of people prevented from traveling, particularly from provincial cities. One or two who arrived in Petersburg were stopped and questioned for several hours by police.

A CWI comrade from Yaroslavl city, north of Moscow, planned to travel to St Petersburg.

On the day he was due to travel he went to the rail station to buy his ticket (In Russia, all long-distance tickets have to have a registered name on them). On arriving home, the CWI comrade was called on by the police, who said they heard he was going to St Petersburg. During questioning, the police asked the comrade what he was planning to do. He was then released. Some hours later, the comrade was again visited, taken to a police station again, and after a while he was released. While he was in the police station the police visited the comrade’s neighbours. The police claimed that during the previous evening, there was a drunken party and a fight at the comrade’s address, which he stays with his grandmother. Of course, none of the neighbours heard anything!

In the evening, the comrade took his place on the train. But before the train left the station, the comrade was visited by the traffic police who refused to let him travel. They claimed this was for his “own safety”. But the comrade was told by the police that if he tried to travel from another train station he would be visited by local police. They would search his baggage and “who knows what they would find”!

Cops in the kitchen

The flat of another CWI comrade in Yaraslavl was searched by police when the comrade was absent. His parents were threatened. They were told, “Things would be very bad”, if their son tried to travel to St Petersburg. But the comrade was not actually intending to go to the G8 protests! Several times, the police tried to call in this comrade for questioning.

The most absurd and ominous example of harassment of CWI supporters concerns a young female comrade from Yaraslavl. She was also called in for questioning by the police. She was warned “not to do anything wrong”. After that, she went to visit her boyfriend in Moscow. Waking up the next morning in Moscow, she found a young policeman sitting calmly in her boyfriend’s kitchen. The policeman complained he was woken at 4 am, the previous night, by his police boss, and sent on a four hour drive from Yaraslavl to Moscow, to track down the female comrade, to try to find out if she was “doing anything wrong”!

With most protesters planning to travel to St Petersburg later this week, we can expect more police harassment. Given this, it is essential that when appeals are made, international protests are sent urgently to the Russian authorities (for example, see yesterday’s appeal on socialistworld.net).

13 July 2006, St Petersburg G8 Summit

CWI supporters and activists released by police

Court case and possible imprisonment on Friday

We have just heard that CWI comrade, Victoria Gromova, and CWI sympathiser, Natalia Zvyagina, who were detained by St Petersburg police earlier this week, along with several other activists, were released in the last few hours. They were held at No 1 RUVD (Police) for the Admiralteiskii raion.

The Russian comrades and CWI thanks all those comrades who protested for their release. This undoubtedly helped make the police decide to release Victoria and, Natalia and the other activists. Although many comrades found a language barrier when they phoned the St Petersburg police, it was clear the police knew who comrades referred to and that they were rattled by the international protest campaign.

However, Victoria and Natalia and other activists will appear in court this Friday. We believe they will be charged with holding an "unsanctioned demonstration". This refers to a small protest, held earlier this week, in Petersburg, against nuclear waste dumping in Russia, at which Victoria and Natalia and others were arrested. Victoria and Natalia travelled to Petersburg as key members of the Legal Team established to provide legal advice and assistance to protesters attending the Russian Social Forum, held during the G8 summit.

If found ‘guilty’ by the court, on Friday, Victoria, Natalia and the other protesters, could be given a 7-day prison sentence. It is vital that CWI sections and comrades continue to send protests to the Russian authorities, calling for the immediate dropping of charges against the protesters. Please send protests to Russian embassies and consulates in your country (details of arrest below). Please inform the CWI of your protests.

14 July 2006, St Petersburg G8 Summit

Court case against CWI supporters and activists postponed

New court date set for 18 July – protests needed!

CWI reporters, St Petersburg

Today’s (Friday 14 July) court case in St Petersburg against CWI comrade, Victoria Gromova, CWI sympathiser, Natalia Zvyagina, and several other activists, was postponed until 18 July. The court made this ruling after the police, who we understand brought charges against the accused of holding an “unsanctioned demonstration”, failed to attend the hearing.

Victoria, Natalia, and the other protesters, were held in a St Petersburg police station earlier this week, following their arrest during a small protest against nuclear waste dumping in Russia. Victoria and Natalia went to Petersburg to work as part of a Legal Team established to provide legal advice and assistance to protesters attending the Russian Social Forum, held during the G8 Summit.

It is possible the court proceedings against the protesters will be postponed again and the hearing dragged out, without any sentence being passed. The authorities may feel they have achieved their aim of disrupting protesters attending the G8 Summit, which ends tomorrow. They also have come under pressure from international protests.

But it is also possible that Victoria, Natalia and the others could be found ‘guilty’ by the court and given a 7-day prison sentence.

We encourage readers to continue making protests to Russian embassies and consulates in the run-up to 18 July court hearing.