The organizer of a protest against internet restrictions in Rostov-on-Don was charged with hooliganism.

An administrative protocol was filed against Yevgeny Makovoz, the organizer of a rally against internet blocking, for petty hooliganism and disobedience to a government official. A court in Rostov-on-Don issued a ruling imposing the punishment.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," security forces in Rostov-on-Don conducted a search this morning at the home of Yevgeny Makovoz, the organizer of the rally for internet freedom. The activist was beaten, and his whereabouts are unknown. Security forces seized the equipment, Makovoz's acquaintances reported.

The case of petty hooliganism (Part 2 of Article 20.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation) against Evgeny Makovoz was filed on March 20 in the Pervomaisky District Court of Rostov-on-Don, noted "Horizontal Russia 7x7" (included in the register of foreign agents).

According to the case file on the court's website, the protocol was reviewed that same day. "A ruling was issued to impose an administrative penalty," the court website states. The meeting minutes were not published in the case file.

Part 2 of Article 20.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses provides for an administrative fine of one thousand to two thousand five hundred rubles or administrative arrest for up to fifteen days.

As a reminder, during mobile internet outages, websites and apps with permitted access are not always available, which, given the mobile connection issues, leads to significant problems, according to residents of southern Russia.

In October 2025, Telegram channel creators in the North Caucasus and Southern Federal Districts experienced a decline in readership, difficulties posting, and reader complaints about access issues with Telegram. Roskomnadzor confirmed that the outages were due to government actions. The agency explained that these messaging apps are being restricted "to combat criminals" who use them to extort money and to involve Russians "in sabotage and terrorist activities." The active slowdown of Telegram in recent days has created significant inconvenience for users of the messenger in the republics of the North Caucasus. People have lost an accessible way to communicate with their relatives, and entrepreneurs have lost their established connections with clients and are suffering losses.