Mikhail Prokopets and CSKA fans’ lawyer – about detentions for Long Live Belarus at an RPL match

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And also a white-red-white flag appeared in the stands, which is also one of the symbols of protest.

This was enough to detain fans and incriminate them with Article 20.31 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (Violation of the rules of behavior of spectators during official sports competitions), which entails a fine and a ban on visiting stadiums.

“Everyone is charged with the same thing, all under a carbon copy. – told Eurosport.ru the lawyer of the human rights association “Agora” Leonid Soloviev, who represents the interests of fans. – During the arrest, the police officers behaved in general normally, with the exception of several cases of attempts to inspect personal belongings (no one gave them in the end). They released everyone in 3-4 hours. ” According to information about one fan detained for 15 days, Solovyov said the following: “He did not contact me, so I can’t say anything,” but at the same time answered in the affirmative when asked whether the other detainees had informed him of this fact.

“The main complaint is that the police consider the flag a symbol of the Belarusian opposition, that is, they consider these chants and the flag to be a public event prohibited in stadiums.

Regarding the legislation: indeed, public events are prohibited at competitions, but under the conditions of a total prohibition to speak out, such harmless forms of expression are absolutely permissible according to the Constitution.

We will hope that the court will terminate the case for insignificance, or at least will not be prohibited from attending events. “

The well-known sports lawyer Mikhail Prokopets also does not really understand the reason for starting an administrative case:

– We have rules of conduct at the stadium, which are approved by the Government of the Russian Federation – they are, including on the RFU website… It just says what can be done and demonstrated to the fans, and what not.

But, to be honest, when looking at these rules, I could not understand why the fans were detained – it is forbidden to shout and display banners that violate or insult the rights of others, are Nazi symbols or any other prohibited on the territory of the Russian Federation.

I have not found anywhere that the demonstration of the flag of another state or shouts like “Long live Belarus” is something forbidden or offensive.

Demonstration of foreign flags is generally a normal practice. This is very often done by fans to support foreign players from their team.

– But this is not the official flag of the country.

– Yes, but at the same time it is not prohibited. If you fly the flag of Nazi Germany, it is a prohibited symbol. And so, in our country you can often see the imperial flag (black-yellow-white) in the stands – they are also not prohibited.