What to do if yesterday you were singing songs

What should you do if yesterday you were singing songs

in support of Yabloko, and today a police officer is knocking at your door?

Yesterday, more than 500 people gathered outside the Supreme Court building to support the Yabloko party. After events like this, police may often come to participants afterward. Here is what you need to know and how to behave.

Can you refuse to open the door?

Yes, you should! You have the right not to open the door, and you can cite Article 25 of the Russian Constitution: no one may enter a home against the will of the people living there.

If officers want to enter the apartment for a search, they must have the relevant court order or investigator’s order. Simply refusing to open the door does not in itself carry legal consequences.

If the police officer wanted to hand you a warning about the inadmissibility of unlawful actions, the document can be delivered in another way, for example by summoning you to the police station or sending it by registered mail.

What if the local precinct officer comes for a “preventive обход”?

You also have the right not to let them into the apartment. It is safer to speak through the door. You can say:

“I did not call the police, and I am not ready to talk right now. If you have grounds, send me a summons to come to the police station.”

A preventive обход is not a search, so without your consent officers have no right to enter the apartment.

If you did open the door after all

stay calm and speak politely;

do not invite the officers into the apartment;

answer questions briefly and to the point;

do not joke and do not try to explain more than what you are asked.

If you need advice on how to speak with police officers, write to us in the Telegram bot @ovdinfobot.

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