Consult Bot by Pervy Otdel

You sent a request to a government body and got a brush-off. Or nothing at all. The Consult Bot of the Pervy Otdel project exists for exactly that moment: lawyers explain how to get information out of the state. ⚖️

Pervy Otdel is a human rights project launched in December 2021 by lawyers who had worked at another rights organization. The bot is one of the ways to ask them for help.

What people bring here

The bot's description shows two tasks. First, explaining how to obtain information from the authorities. Second, helping when the state stalls, which means delaying, staying silent or replying in a purely formal way.

This is not a general legal chat for every life situation. The project is known for work on treason, espionage and extremism cases, but the bot is presented as consultation on access to information and related questions.

How long the reply takes

The bot's description gives an average processing time for requests: in the latest month it quoted, about 23 hours. The number changes from month to month, so rely on the current figure in the profile.

The project promises an answer to every question. Still, do not expect one within minutes: real lawyers sit behind the chat, not an autoresponder. ⏳

How to write a useful question

• The point in one sentence. What information you want and from which body.
• What you already did. When you sent the request, what came back, whether a refusal arrived.
• Documents. Copies of replies and dates help the lawyer sort things out faster.
• Deadline. Say how urgent the result is.

The more specific the question, the more precise the answer. A vague "nobody replies to me" needs an extra round of clarifying questions.

A word on the right to information

Russian law gives citizens the right to receive information about what state bodies do. A request is normally submitted in writing or through the body's website, and a reply must arrive within a set period.

If you are refused, the refusal has to be justified. That is usually the stage where a lawyer helps most: they can tell you whether the refusal is lawful and whether it can be appealed. 📄

Staying safe

Messenger conversations are not perfectly protected. Do not send extras: passport details, passwords and anything that could harm you or other people should go over only when the lawyer asks directly and explains why.

If your case carries a risk to personal freedom, use trusted ways of communicating, and remember that a consultation in a bot does not replace a defense lawyer in a criminal case. 🔒

Following the project

The project runs a main channel with news, case breakdowns and legal explainers. It helps if you want to understand the topic first and avoid spending a request on a question already answered there.

For general questions about the project or cooperation, use the contacts listed in the channel profile.