Moscow police have started visiting the homes of people who gathered outside the Supreme Court on August 10 during a hearing on removing the Yabloko party from the State Duma ballot. Officers are handing them official warnings about the "inadmissibility of unlawful actions" and participation in unsanctioned rallies, according to Mediazona and ASTRA, citing their readers.
SOTAvision journalist Veronika Orlova and Yabloko candidate for Moscow's Cheryomushki district Alexei Smirnov also said they received the documents. Police visited Orlova at her previous registered address, while a reader of Mediazona and ASTRA was approached at his actual residence. The reader said one officer read the warning aloud while another recorded the interaction on a phone. The man was also filmed holding the document and his passport. He said he did not appear in public videos from outside the court, suggesting he may have been identified through surveillance cameras. The Telegram channel RusNews also reported that "district police officers are calling those who appeared on camera."
On August 10, the Supreme Court removed the party's federal list from the Duma election, ruling that Yabloko had used intellectual property without crediting the authors and had violated campaign financing rules. The decision did not affect the party's single-mandate district candidates, of whom there are 131 nationwide.
The Supreme Court will hear the party's appeal on August 17. On the same day, the Pskov City Court will deliver a verdict in the case against Yabloko deputy chairman Lev Shlosberg, who is accused of "discrediting" the Russian armed forces and spreading "fakes" about the military.