The court arrested eight participants of the Limonov Readings in Krasnodar.

Security forces violently detained eight participants of the "Limonov Readings" in Krasnodar. The court sentenced them to two to 10 days in custody under administrative charges of displaying extremist symbols and organizing an unsanctioned event.

On the evening of January 17, armed and masked police officers arrived at the "Limonov Readings" event organized by the National Bolsheviks in Krasnodar, their associates reported. They said the officers entered the loft during a musical performance and forced the participants to lie on the floor. Most of the approximately 50 guests were soon released, while eight were taken away, Mediazona reported today.*

None of the 50 people present resisted the police. The venue was filled exclusively with patriotic symbols and Novorossiya flags, and young artists performed songs and poems glorifying Russia, according to the Telegram channel "National Human Rights Defense."

"Nevertheless, law enforcement officers acted unjustifiably harshly toward everyone on the stage: one of the girls was even forcefully thrown to the floor, so much so that after the incident she complained of pain in her ribs," the publication notes.

Today, the detainees were brought to the Oktyabrsky District Court of Krasnodar. However, the lawyer was informed that no such detainees had been brought; and the duty officers disconnected calls from the wife of one of the detainees. Parcels for the detainees were also refused: in the evening because "there were no such detainees"; in the morning because "the detainees will soon be taken to court."

The court sentenced those detained at the event to arrests ranging from 2 to 10 days. The police and the court considered that extremist symbols were allegedly displayed at the Limonov Readings, although the symbols of the party “The Other Russia of E. V. Limonov” 1 are not prohibited and are not on the list of extremist materials, the Telegram channel reported.

Under Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (propaganda or public display of Nazi paraphernalia or symbols): Aleksey Leonenko received 10 days of arrest, Ruslan Khubaev, Mikhail Matyazh, Anatoly Belyshev, and Ilya Pakhalenkov received five days each, and Yana Auzyna and Alexandra Papsheva received two days each.

In addition to the ruling under Article 20.3, Ruslan Khubaev was separately given five days of administrative arrest under Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation—violation of the established procedure for organizing or holding a meeting, rally, demonstration, march, or picket. Thus, Ruslan Khubaev faces 10 days of administrative arrest.

Sympathizer Kirill Dultsev was charged with the same article as Ruslan Khubaev—Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. Nevertheless, the court sentenced him to three days of administrative arrest, the publication states.

The arrest decisions will be appealed.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", a court in Krasnodar found Ruslan Khubaev, a member of the election commission who discovered ballot stuffing at a polling station, guilty of disrespecting the authorities and publicly displaying extremist symbols, and ordered him to pay a fine of 67,000 rubles. Prior to this, he was arrested for 14 days on administrative charges of hooliganism and distributing prohibited symbols. One of the administrative cases was opened due to the symbols of "E.V. Limonov's Other Russia," which the court deemed similar to the emblem of the National Bolshevik Party*.

Earlier, on October 28, 2011, the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow sentenced five defendants in the case of the riots on Manezhnaya Square, activists of "The Other Russia." Ruslan Khubaev was sentenced to four years in prison. On March 29, 2012, the Moscow City Court compromised the sentences for some of the convicted. Ruslan Khubaev's sentence was reduced to three years and ten months in prison.

* included in the register of foreign agents.

** the organization is recognized as extremist, its activities are prohibited by court order.

*** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.