Social activists of the Karelian Parents' Union have filed a legal complaint to republican prosecutor Dmitry Kharchenkov that demands lifting restrictions on free entry to hospitals, schools, cultural and sports institutions. In their opinion, the restrictions imposed by the authorities violate their constitutional rights. Almost 1.5 thousand people have signed the appeal. Natalya Nikiforova, the chairman of the organization, told 7x7 about this.
The Karelian Parents' Union Public Movement has opposed anti-covid restrictions in Karelia: citizens are prohibited from visiting a number of public facilities without providing a QR code about being vaccinated, a negative PCR test or a document confirming having come through coronavirus. The acting head of Karelia Evgeny Chepik signed the corresponding order in early October.
"The restriction on entering institutions based on being or not being vaccinated, PCR tests or other certificates violates our constitutional rights and freedoms. This is not a concern for the residents' health, but it causes social discord," says the appeal (7x7 has it).
The document’s authors explain that vaccinated citizens are vectors or can spread the virus and in case of infection with the delta strain, they, according to the social activists, can become vectors of the same volume of viral particles as people who have not been vaccinated.
"Citizens exercise their rights at their discretion and have the right to independently make a decision on vaccination or refusal of vaccination, including against the new coronavirus infection COVID-19," the social activists said.
The document’s authors asked Karelian Prosecutor Dmitry Kharchenkov to check the order of the regional authorities on the imposition of QR codes for legality and compliance with the requirements of the Constitution of Russia and federal laws. The social activists demanded requesting local documents of medical, cultural, educational and sports institutions, according to which the admission of citizens to their institutions may be limited. Representatives of the Karelian Parents' Union asked to protect the rights of residents to enter hospitals, cultural, educational, sports institutions freely to accompany their children. The activists want to resolve the issue of initiating an administrative or criminal case against officials who ordered the imposition of QR codes in Karelia.
According to the Karelian Parents' Union, the regional authorities' order contradicts the Constitution and the Federal Law on the Fundamentals of Protection of the Public Health in the Russian Federation. Thus, the Constitution of Russia states that everyone has the right to health protection and medical care. In addition, according to the main document of the country, laws that cancel or detract human rights and freedoms should not be issued in Russia. On the other hand, the Federal Law on the Fundamentals of Protection of the Public Health in the Russian Federation says about the inadmissibility of refusal to provide medical care.
According to the Chairman of the Karelian Parents' Union Public Movement Natalya Nikiforova, almost 1.5 thousand people have signed the appeal to the prosecutor.
"People are outraged and do not understand how elective care in hospitals is going to be provided now. In our appeal, we placed more emphasis on protecting the right to receive medical care, as it is vital, as well as other rights, the restriction of which significantly reduces the quality of any person’s life," Nikiforova commented.
Local residents oppose the imposition of QR codes not only in Karelia. For example, residents of Vologda Oblas have collected 6 thousand signatures under an appeal against forced coronavirus vaccination and the imposition of QR codes. They have filed it with the President of Russia and the governor of the region, as well as with the Ministry of Health of Russia, the Prosecutor General's Office, Rospotrebnadzor (the Russian Federal State Agency for Health and Consumer Rights) and the Vologda Oblast Prosecutor's Office. According to Sergei Gorodishenin, a member of the initiative group, the actions of the authorities cause distrust among residents of the region.
