ST. PETERSBURG, June 10 (RAPSI) - The Russian Constitutional Court refused to hear a complaint regarding a city ordinance that bans protests in specific locations in St. Petersburg, according to a statement published on the court’s website.

A petition was filed with the Constitutional Court by Alexander Peredruk whose Nevsky Prospekt protest permit was denied. Article 52 of the City Ordinance on Assemblies, Protests, Rallies and Marches in St. Petersburg bans protests and marches at Palace Square, St. Isaac’s Square, Nevsky Prospekt, around schools, hospitals, railway stations, metro stations and administrative buildings.

Peredruk claimed that the ban on protests around city administrative buildings restricts freedom of “expressing public opinion to the government and other authorities and, therefore, seriously restricts the right to hold peaceful assemblies.”

The Constitutional Court referred to its own Resolution No. 4-P of February 14, 2013, that explains that the freedom to assemble (Article 31 of the Constitution) “is not an absolute right and may be limited by federal law to protect constitutionally significant values.”

The court also stressed that under the law, local governments may “designate special locations that are suitable for and equipped to hold discussions on social issues and for the expression of public mood as well as for gatherings of citizens for public expression of opinion on current events of a social or political nature.”