The Russian authorities have opened criminal proceedings against environmental activist and peaceful protester Vyacheslav Egorov, and placed him under house arrest pending trial. He is being investigated for the repeated violation of Russia’s unduly restrictive rules governing public assemblies, under Article 212.1 of the Criminal Code. This is in contradiction to the Russian Constitutional Court ruling, on 10 January 2017, that protesters should not be held criminally liable under this Article unless their actions caused or threatened actual harm, and creates a dangerous precedent. Vyacheslav Egorov is a prisoner of conscience.
