Време за четене: 3 минути

VIOLATION OF THE RIGHT TO PEACEFUL PROTEST IN 3 STEPS!

Gabriela is a trans woman who on 13.10.2023 the court refused to change her identity papers and she went on hunger strike in protest. After two days of Gabi's peaceful protest in front of the Courthouse, the Interior Ministry and municipal police showed us how the constitutionally guaranteed right of citizens to protest is violated in three simple steps:

  1. On the morning of 16.11.2023, the Capital Inspectorate issued a violation report to the person who submitted the notification for the protest – it was stated that the protest was being held on the steps of the Courthouse, and Gabriela had taken the liberty of keeping some of her belongings in a tent immediately in front of the steps, i.e., outside the stated location;
  2. On the afternoon of 11/16/2023, the Protestant was called back and agreed to take the tent down while the new notification he had submitted to the City was processed;
  3.  A few hours later, the police decided that they needed to check Gabby's ID, and she protested specifically about the refusal to change her documents. The failure to provide the documents turns out to be the reason for Gabby's arrest and effectively the disruption of her protest.

In three steps the Ministry of Interior and the Capital Inspectorate demonstrated a flagrant violation of the right to peaceful protest. We would like to remind you that the notification of a protest serves to ensure its peaceful conduct and restrictions are imposed only as a last resort and in connection with violent acts.

  • Sanctioning a protest organizer for formally identifying an inaccurate protest location nullifies the notice regime and turns it into a permit regime, and that is a violation;
  • Targeted verification of the identity of protesters without evidence that they have resorted to violence is intended to discourage protesting and is therefore an offence;
  • Use of formal grounds related to a possible administrative violation – in this case not providing ID to disperse a protest is also a violation;

 

Gabi should be released immediately and the authorities should guarantee her right to protest and her safety during the protest!