A woman votes at a polling station during the gubernatorial elections in St. Petersburg, 6 September 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANATOLY MALTSEV
A St. Petersburg woman was detained by police for “hooliganism” for leaving an anti-war message on her ballot paper during municipal elections in the city on Sunday, her husband told rights group OVD-Info.
Marina Popova, who was working as an observer during this weekend’s elections, was held at a police station on Sunday night after writing “no to war” on her own ballot paper, OVD-Info said.
She was detained after an electoral commission member saw the message and called police, St. Petersburg news outlet Fontanka reported. The man, who asked not to be named, told Fontanka he felt it was his “civic duty” to report Popova’s actions.
In addition to the hooliganism charges, police also planned to open an administrative case against Popova for “discrediting” the Russian army, her lawyer Alyona Skachko said.
“She voted, she was detained, and she is not giving any explanations now,” Skachko told Fontanka, adding that Popova denied any wrongdoing and was exercising her constitutional right not to testify against herself.
During Russia’s presidential election in March, a St. Petersburg voter who wrote “no to war” on her ballot paper was jailed for eight days for hooliganism and fined 40,000 rubles (€400) for “discrediting” the Russian army.
Regional and municipal elections took place across Russia and in annexed Crimea from Friday to Sunday, with all 21 incumbent Putin-appointed regional governors who had been standing for re-election winning with comfortable majorities. The ruling United Russia party, meanwhile, won in all 10 regions where parliamentary elections were held.
Independent election monitor Golos reported almost 650 potential violations during the weekend’s elections, including bribery, ballot-stuffing and online voting inconsistencies.
