Czech national fined, jailed over Red Square protest

A Czech citizen has been sentenced to 13 days in administrative detention after staging a protest on Moscow’s Red Square, the press service of the Tverskoy District Court said.

The man, identified as Michal Plamenek, was detained on September 20 afternoon after holding an English-language placard near Lenin’s Mausoleum, the court said in a statement.

The authorities did not disclose the wording of the sign. However, the court press service said the judge ruled that the inscription was “aimed at discrediting the Russian Armed Forces.”

Police detained Plamenek because Red Square is adjacent to the Kremlin, where public demonstrations are prohibited. He allegedly refused officers’ request to accompany them to a police station and resisted detention.

The court found Plamenek guilty of three administrative offenses: “discrediting” the Russian Armed Forces, violating regulations governing public events, and disobeying a lawful order from a police officer.

He was fined 40,000 rubles ($470) for “discrediting” the military and an additional 20,000 rubles ($237) for violating protest regulations. He was also sentenced to 13 days in administrative detention for disobeying police.

By Vafa Guliyeva