2 KABLIS v. RUSSIA JUDGMENT A. Notification of a public event and the blocking of the applicant’s social networking account and of three entries on his Internet blog 6. On 19 September 2015 the Federal Security Service (‘the FSB”) and the Investigations Committee of the Russian Federation announced that criminal proceedings on suspicion of membership of a criminal gang and fraud had been opened against the Governor of the Komi Republic, Mr Gaizer, one of his deputies, several high-ranking officials in the Komi Republic government, the speaker of the Komi Republic parliament and a representative of the Komi Republic in the upper chamber of the Russian Parliament. All of them were arrested on the same day. 7. On 21 September 2015 the applicant, together with Ms S., notified the Syktyvkar Town Administration of their intention to hold a “picket” (пикетирование) from 5 to 6 p.m. on 25 September 2015 at the crossroads of Lenin and Kommunisticheskaya streets behind the Lenin monument, which fifty people were expected to attend. The aim of the event was to “discuss the arrest of the Komi Republic government”. 8. On the same day the applicant published a copy of his notification of 21 September 2015 on his Internet blog. He said that the aim of the “picket” was to let the people express their thoughts about the arrests of members of the Komi Republic government. Any opinions – from approval to criticism of the arrests – were welcome. He hoped that the “picket” would be approved. However, if the town administration proposed to hold it on the outskirts of the town, a “people’s assembly” (народный сход), which did not require prior notification, would be held at the same location (behind the Lenin monument). The applicant then criticised the fact that regional governors were appointed by the President and expressed the wish that governors be elected by the people. He asked why Mr Gaizer had been appointed governor of the Komi Republic in 2010 if, according to the investigators, he had been a member of a criminal gang since 2006. He then said that the accusations against Mr Gaizer and the others seemed to be based on a very slim evidentiary basis, which gave reasons to believe that the criminal proceedings against them were politically motivated. In his opinion, Mr Putin was trying to frighten other governors into submission. In any event, appointed governors always served the interests of those who had appointed them. He therefore wanted to propose a discussion about the future of the Komi Republic and, in particular, about whether the people wanted the next governor to be appointed or elected. 9. Later on the same day, 21 September 2015, the Syktyvkar Town Administration refused to approve the venue chosen by the applicant, pointing out that regional law no. 91-RZ of 20 November 2012 [sic] prohibited the holding of public events in Stefanovskaya Square (see paragraph 34 below). The town administration proposed that the “picket” be