Court cases that used Russian surveillance as evidence

A review of more than 2,000 Moscow court cases shows that cameras played an important role in the arrests of hundreds of protesters. In most cases that relied on surveillance, law enforcement officials used CCTV footage provided by Moscow’s Department of Information Technologies to identify protesters. Several of the cases directly mention that a facial recognition algorithm was used. Some say that passport photos were compared to images from city surveillance cameras to establish the identities of protesters.

Most people were detained in 2021 after they joined anti-government demonstrations

Year not

known

In cases terminated or returned to police, judges often cited procedural errors or lack of evidence

Of 153 guilty outcomes that were appealed, about 90% were unsuccessful

Court cases that used Russian surveillance as evidence

A review of more than 2,000 Moscow court cases shows that cameras played an important role in the arrests of hundreds of protesters. In most cases that relied on surveillance, law enforcement officials used CCTV footage provided by Moscow’s Department of Information Technologies to identify protesters. Several of the cases directly mention that a facial recognition algorithm was used. Some say that passport photos were compared to images from city surveillance cameras to establish the identities of protesters.

Guilty and sentenced to compulsory labor

Case terminated or returned to the police

Most people were detained in 2021 after they joined anti-government demonstrations

Year not known

Of 153 guilty outcomes that were appealed, about 90% were unsuccessful

In cases terminated or returned to police, judges often cited procedural errors or lack of evidence