The right to freedom of peaceful assembly is a fundamental human right enshrined both in international and regional treaties to which Russia has agreed to be bound and in Russian law. However, the Russian authorities are flouting the obligations of the state to respect, protect, promote and fulfil this right by using increasingly repressive measures to restrict and suppress peaceful protests. This increasingly repressive legislation is being enforced through measures including unfair trials, unfounded and disproportionate sanctions, and excessive use of force against protesters.
