The Team 29[1] is an informal association of lawyers and journalists aimed to counteract growing governmental closeness in Russia. The Team has worked since February 2015. Its leader is Ivan Pavlov, legal attorney. Most of the Team 29 members are ex-employees of the Freedom of Information Foundation, a NGO that worked in the field of FOI promotion and defense in Russia since 2004 and was in 2014 included in the list of "foreign agent" NGOs. Working now without a legal entity in Russia, the Foundation team has managed to continue their work despite governmental pressure over independent civic initiatives.[2][3]
Legal Activities
edit- Termination of criminal persecution of Svetlana Davydova, a mother of many children, charged of high treason for a phone call to the Ukrainian embassy.[4]
- Contesting President Vladimir Putin's Decree classifying information on military personnel losses in the time of peace.[5]
- Victory in a judicial dispute between an ex-employee of the "pro-Kremlin online troll fabric" against her former employer. The court trial has catalyzed public attention to the problem of paid online propaganda in Russia.[6]
- Victory in the Constitutional Court of Russia: the Team 29 lawyers have achieved that child adoption secrecy is considered not absolute.[7]
Public Outreach
editThe Team 29 issued several media projects presenting legal guides for activists and the wide public.[8] Within counteracting governmental closeness growth, the Team has launched "Closeness Chronicles"[1], a chronology of governmental closeness growth facts happened in Russia during Vladimir Putin's last Presidency.
Termination of the activities
editOn 16 July 2021, the website of the Team 29 was blocked by Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media at the request of Prosecutor General of Russia.[9] According to official letter, Prosecutor General of Russia identifies the Team 29 to Czech nonprofit organization "Společnost Svobody Informace" which was designated undesirable on 29 June 2021.[10] The Team 29 doesn't agree with that but it has to make decision to dissolve itself because of risks involved with criminal prosecution under the article 284.1 of the Criminal Code of Russia against its members. The Team 29 will delete its digital archive including judicial documents. The Team 29 recommends to delete direct links to its documents because such links can be regarded as a participation in the activity of undesirable organization and be grounds for criminal prosecution. Former members of the Team 29 will continue to work in their personal capacity.[11]
References
edit- ^ "Main page". team29.org. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
- ^ "Legal team defends sensitive political cases in Russia". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
- ^ "Russian Legal Activists Offer Advice for 'When They Come for You' | News". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
- ^ "Russia drops treason charges against Svetlana Davydova". The Guardian. Reuters. 2015-03-13. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
- ^ "'The Kremlin gets a monopoly on truth' | A lawyer sets out to challenge Putin's decree classifying Russian military deaths". Meduza. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
- ^ "Russian 'troll factory' sued for underpayment and labour violations". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 2015-06-23. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
- ^ "Тайна усыновления не устояла в суде". Газета.Ru. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
- ^ "The Right To Know". guide.team29.org. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
- ^ ""Команда 29" объявила о самороспуске". Novaya gazeta (in Russian). 18 July 2021.
- ^ "Генпрокуратура внесла в перечень нежелательных организаций чешскую НПО Spolecnost Svobody Informace". Novaya gazeta (in Russian). 29 June 2021.
- ^ ""Команда 29" объявила о своем роспуске из-за преследования со стороны властей". The Insider (in Russian). 18 July 2021.