July 2023

A call to OVD-Info hotline or a message to our Telegram bot are the easiest ways to report persecution and get a free consultation. Specialists will advise you on how your situation may develop, and instruct you about your next steps.

• 301,907 users were connected to our Telegram-bot
• our legal instructions were viewed 6,171 times
• we received 788 calls on our hotline

In total, our operators and volunteers spoke on the phone for 37 hours, 26 minutes and 28 seconds.

Lawyers of the hotline

• conducted 76 consultations by phone;
• responded to 162 letters received at legal@ovdinfo.org;
• audited 4 appeals received through the generator.

Legal aid

We provide and coordinate legal assistance in cases related to the restrictions of freedom of peaceful assembly or freedom of speech. Our attorneys visit those detained in police departments, support defendants in Russian administrative and criminal courts, and file complaints with the European Court of Human Rights.

Assistance on cases of administrative offences

In July, our lawyers, jurists, and defenders

• went to the police departments 15 times, where they helped 19 detainees.
• helped 166 people in court sessions on administrative cases.
• managed to terminate, cancel or return at least 12 cases of administrative offence.

Criminal cases

Our lawyers and jurists in July 2023

• Were present during one search;
• Accompanied clients on 7 interrogations;
• Entered into 4 new criminal cases;
• In total, at the end of July, lawyers from OVD-Info worked on 66 criminal cases against 83 people in 38 cities.

We consider all the charges and criminal cases brought in connection with them to be illegal and politically motivated.

European Court of Human Rights complaints campaign

• We have sent 17 complaints to the European Court of Human Rights.
• A total of 2,921 complaints were submitted during the campaign.
• On 429 complaints, ECHR issued judgements — all in favour of the applicants; the remaining complaints are pending trial or registration.

News and media

The authorities that violate human rights prefer to avoid publicity. But as they say, silence in the face of evil is itself evil. We believe that information protects, and that media and social attention can prevent violations and change the whole picture.

We have prepared and released

• 359 express news about political persecution in 70 regions of Russia;
• 4 longreads on political persecution

What you should pay attention to

• «They hit me on the head and dragged me into the car»
  On June 15th, the Kemerovo Regional Court fined pensioner and trade union activist Oleg Tyryshkin 10,000 rubles (US$112). He was charged with inciting hatred due to his comments about FSB employees. During his arrest, he was beaten. In the past three months, he has been fined twice for posting an image of Vladimir Putin in a Nazi uniform. In May, Tyryshkin became a suspect in a criminal case under an article on justifying terrorism.
• Baryshnikov’s Last Court Address
  In the last report, you read a text about Igor, a pensioner who was convicted because of his anti-war posts on Facebook. Igor was sentenced, and here is his last court address
• Russia’s Other War: The Fight over Freedom of Expression
  Stephen H. Marcus and Marissa Kardon Weber, legal advisers to OVD-Info, a Russian human rights group, discuss the Russian government’s recent efforts to suppress opposition to the war in Ukraine.
• Insight: Young Russian lawyers step up to defend anti-war protesters
  Lawyer Sofia Gominova from Saint-Petersburg and public defender Yuri Mikhailov from Moscow shared their stories and explain, why they chose to defend anti-war activists.

• The Dissident Digest — free weekly newsletter in English!
  The Digest is your window into the dark world of the Kremlin’s war on human rights and civil society in Russia. The Dissident Digest informs you through data, news and explainers. The newsletter is by no means all-encompassing but we strive to provide you with a snapshot of most important developments.

If you want to be informed about political repressions in Russia you can subscribe to our Digest, follow us on Twitter or visit our website! Everything helps.

Reports, research, and advocacy

At our organisation, we examine emerging problems from various angles, which helps us work out present-day tactical solutions and lay the strategic foundation for future systemic change. The results of our analyses are published as reports, data sets, or special projects.

• An analysis of sentences for «antiwar» cases.
  Activists started to be sentenced in the second month of the full-scale invasion, mainly participants of mass anti-war protests in the first days of the full-scale invasion. As of 12 July, we know of 215 sentences, 82 of which carry real prison terms. 3 cases were dismissed. We are taking into account all sentences in «anti-war» cases except for those handed out for draft dodging or for allegedly trying to defect to Ukraine’s military.
• How authorities use facial recognition system against dissenters.
  On 4 July 2023, the European Court of Human Rights issued an order directly condemning Russia’s police use of a facial recognition system against dissidents. At the same time, the authorities are increasing the use of technology for repressive purposes. Today we talk about the excuses given by the Kremlin regarding spying on activists and why the ECHR deems this practice unacceptable.
• Wartime repression report, July 2023

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How much we collected

Total transfers

• 17,059 donations
• RUB 18,066,514

The figure includes

• 3,120 donations made through the GlobalGiving platform (RUB 9,017,226). As per our agreement with GlobalGiving, we are currently receiving deferred transfers from the previous year.
• 710 direct transfers made to OVD-Info clients through the Zaodno platform, totalling RUB 649,218.

How much we spent

In July, we expended a total of RUB 22,208,072, all of which was funded by your donations and transfers from various sources. Here’s a breakdown of how the funds were used:

• RUB 6,938,384 — legal assistance. Our lawyers and human rights defenders worked tirelessly to provide legal aid to detainees in police departments and courts, and coordinated assistance in criminal cases throughout the month.
• RUB 2,247,304 — work of our hotline operators and reporters. Our monitoring group received calls to the hotline and messages in the telegram bot every day, and reported news to aid detainees, not only during large-scale actions, but also for regular detentions that occur almost every day in Russia.
• RUB 2,248,701 — the work of our media team. We believe that information can be a powerful tool in protecting political rights. To make information about political rights violations public, we prepared and published significant articles, created guides for major criminal cases, launched special projects, gave interviews, and talked about it on all available social networks.
• RUB 1,534,009 - data projects, reports, research, and advocacy. We collect and analyse data on political persecution to make informed decisions and help journalists and researchers understand the situation. Based on the collected data, we prepare comprehensive reports that analyse how legislative practices and repressive laws enable political persecution.
• RUB 2,046,773 — the work of our IT team. We developed tools and services that help to protect ourselves and others, ensure the stable operation of our entire system, and share our work with other initiatives.
• RUB 789,911 — volunteer coordination. Our volunteers are our backbone and the best team of like-minded individuals. We are committed to expanding our community and ensuring that volunteers actively participate in the project’s life.
• RUB 3,712,179 — operational support of the project. Thanks to this work, which is not always visible, we continue to help those who need help and spend our energy and resources more efficiently. It includes the costs of team members who ensure the daily work and planning of the project and are responsible for the sustainability of OVD-Info in the long term, budget planning, strategic goals, communication with donors and financial transparency. This also includes the costs of caring for team members: psychological assistance, development of the competencies of participants and their safety.
• RUB 1,044,246 — infrastructure costs (office rent, phone and Internet). This helps us to work more cohesively and efficiently, as well as to take calls to the hotline and write news stories.
• RUB 330,034 — bank account maintenance and payment systems commission. We use several payment systems, and the interest rates are all different. This amount is calculated as a percentage of donations and expenses on the account. It depends not only on our expenses but also on the amount of income. The increase in the amount was also influenced by an increase in the commission from the payment system that we use to accept and process donations.
• RUB 1,316,531 — additional taxes and fees. We have separated this portion of fees in the expense structure to cover taxes that are not included in other expense items.

Thank you so much for being with us!