|
Newsbrief:
Radical
Party
Moscow
Activists
Go
to
Trial
for
Marijuana
Legalization
Rally
--
Free
Speech
at
Heart
of
Case
8/9/02
The Transnational Radical
Party (TRP) is giving Russian authorities fits as it agitates against that
country's onerous drug laws. Just two weeks ago, the Radicals held
a sidewalk poll on cannabis legalization, prompting howls of protest from
Russian anti-drug officials (http://www.drcnet.org/wol/247.html#moscow).
This week, the Radicals began an internet petition drive to legalize cannabis
and provoked Moscow authorities into banning a planned cannabis legalization
rally, transmuting their drug reform effort into a broader struggle over
free speech in the former Communist heartland.
On Monday, the Russian Radicals
kicked off their petition drive with a rally at Pushkinskaya Square in
Moscow -- despite local authorities' earlier orders that the rally not
be held. As the Radicals noted in a press release from Moscow:
"As was promised earlier, the Radicals decided not to obey the illegal
prohibition by the [local authorities] of the anti-prohibitionist rally
demanding to legalize hemp and its derivatives. For the first time,
the authorities prohibited a rally of Radicals on openly political grounds,
having violated the basic constitutional right to freedom of demonstrations
and expression of one's opinion."
According to the Radicals,
the press conference went off despite the presence of several burly Moscow
special militia. Radical leader Nikolaj Khramov told the cops and
assembled bystanders that the order to bar the rally violated numerous
sections of Russian law. But when the press conference was finished
and the participants tried to unroll a banner saying "To legalize marijuana,"
they were placed under arrest by the militiamen.
Russian Radical Party members
Khramov, Anna Zaytseva, Alyona Asayeva, Ilya Malkov and Leonid Positselsky
were detained in the Tverskoy militia station before being released later
Monday evening. They were charged with violating Russian laws regulating
assemblies, rallies, demonstrations and similar events. The Moscow
Five faced trials Thursday. (This article went to press before DRCNet
could confirm the results of the trials.)
Read the text of the Russian
cannabis legalization petition at http://www.radikaly.ru/news/?text=1035
on the Russian Radical Party web site, and visit http://www.radicalparty.org
to learn more about the TRP.
-- END --
|
Issue #249, 8/9/02
Nevada Marijuana Initiative Endorsed by State's Largest Police Group | DC Board of Elections Rejects Medical Marijuana Petitions -- Admits One of Seven Valid Signatures Ignored but Refuses to Correct Error | Democratic Governor Candidate Calls for Repeal of NY Rockefeller Laws | Switzerland Defends Cannabis Decrim, Tells UN Narcocrats to Buzz Off | Which War Am I In? DEA Meth Offensive Continues as US Pilots in Afghanistan Gobble Speed | Libertarian Party Launches TV Ad Campaign Targeting Rep. Bob Barr on Medical Marijuana
| Drug Czar Picks Beer-Promoting NASCAR Hot Rodder to Carry Anti-Drug Message | School Anti-Drug Programs Get Failing Grade, Study Says | Drug Dog Terrorizes Native American Kindergartners in South Dakota, Lawsuit Filed | Newsbrief: South Dakota Lakota Successfully Harvest Hemp Crop | Newsbrief: Peru Backs Off on Coca Eradication, Again | Newsbrief: Radical Party Moscow Activists Go to Trial for Marijuana Legalization Rally -- Free Speech at Heart of Case | Newsbrief: Federal Judge Deems Utah Asset Forfeiture Initiative Constitutional | Newsbrief: Canadian NAFTA Suit Over Hemp Restrictions Enters Arbitration | Newsbrief: More than One Million in Drug Treatment in US, SAMHSA Says | Newsbrief: Budget Woes Close Detox, Treatment Facilities in NC, Iowa | Newsbrief: Stiffer Ecstasy Penalties Would Hit Penn State University | Newsbrief: Study Finds THC-like Chemicals Useful for Certain Disorders | Newsbrief: Archeological Evidence of Bronze Age Drug Trade | Web Scan: Narco News, Nature, Cato | Legislative Alerts: Rave Bill, Medical Marijuana, Higher Education Act Drug Provision | The Reformer's Calendar
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