In the afternoon of 7 February 2019, Ivan Luzin and two other students from Kaliningrad (Western Russia), came to the city’s central Victory Square to peacefully protest against torture. They carried placards with the names and ages of two men, who had allegedly been ill-treated by law enforcement officers as suspects pressed with questionable charges. The activists took photos of each other with the placards in their hands and then went to a nearby café. When the three finished their coffee and left the café, they were immediately arrested by police and brought to a police station. Authorities alleged that the young man and two young women had organized an illegal public event. The police also accused Luzin, who had recently turned 18, of “implicating minors in an unsanctioned protest” since the others were 16 and 15 years old.
