Russia´s Government can´t detain the Internet

Andreas Rossbach
Jul 23, 2017 · 3 min read
Students protesting for internet freedom and demanding to release the jailed sofware developer Dmitry Bogatov.

“Freedom everywhere and always”, anti-censorhip protestors in Moscow chant. A large part of the crowd were highschool and university students. One of the young participants, Tatiana Fedorova said “the internet is the last frontier of freedom in Russia”.

Hundreds gathered in a peaceful protest authorized by the Moscow city officials, to demonstrate for internet freedom and the release of the Russian software developer and math teacher Dimitry Bogatov. Among the participants were various political activists, supporters of opposition politician Alexei Nawalny and concerned citizens. What unites them all is the fear of the Russian state´s internet crackdown.

Some Demonstrators called for the sacking of Aleksandr Zharov, the head of Roskomnadzor, the state agency that plays a central role in regulating online speech.

Their encounter lasted for two hours, started at Strastnoy Boulevard and came to an end at Akademika Sakharova Prospekt. Before the particpants of the march started to move, Ruslana Ivanova, an activist, has been arrested by police. According to OVD-Info, an NGO that monitors politically-motivated arrests in Russia, two more activists have been arrested during the demonstration, one for carrying leaflets of oppositional politician Alexei Navalny, another for a poster on which was written “They started with the media, now they continue with the Internet. I am fed up with it.”

Prominent political activist Ildar Dadin , who was also present at the demonstration said “I am here because I think freedom of speech and opion are inviolable rights, which cannot be reserved or attacked.

He was accused of violating the rules for organising protests and sentenced to three years in prison in August 2014. Hower, the period was later decreased to two and a half years. Dadin had been taken to a penal colony to serve his sentence, where he was reportedly tortured for going on a hunger strike. Before the political activist was finally released released from prison in February 2017.

Kremlin´s crackdown on the Runet

The protest came two days after members of the Russian State Duma pushed for a law that would prohibit the use of Internet proxy services, including virtual private networks, or VPNs.

On July 21 the bill was approved in its third and final reading. The law also obliges anyone using an online message service to identify themselves with a telephone number. Thus, it would also ban the anonymous use of mobile messaging services like Telegram.

It will face a single vote in the upper house of the Russian parliament, before it is going to be very likely approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who rarely rejects laws adopted by the Kremlin-controlled legislature.

Russian officials have dismissed accusations by rights groups like Human Rights Watch and Western governments that authorities are stepping up efforts to stifle online dissent.

“It feels good that all these people came together to protest for the freedom of the internet”, one of the protestors said. “A pitty, however, that only a few people came this time, maybe next time more people will come.”

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