In Sochi, human rights defender Sergey Basmanov arrested for 10 days

Today, the Khosta District Court found Sergey Basmanov, the human rights defender from Sochi, guilty of disorderly conduct committed on the day of voting at the elections to the State Duma. Sergey Basmanov was sentenced to an administrative penalty in the form of 10-day arrest.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Sergey Basmanov, the director of the Krasnodar regional public organization "Centre for Protection of Citizens' Constitutional Rights and Freedoms", was detained on December 10 in the course of the protest action against unfair elections. After detention, Sergey Basmanov was brought to the judicial precinct No. 98, where Magistrate Agavnya Podkopaeva charged him of disobeying the police on December 4 at one of the electoral precinct commission at the elections to the State Duma and of hiding from investigators.

During today's court session, Sergey Basmanov stated that he "had not committed anything unlawful on December 4."

"On December 4, the day of the elections to the State Duma, I was an observer at the electoral precinct No. 45-21 located in the TOS (territorial public self-administration) "Matsesta". There, I found out violations in the form of unlawful distribution of calendars, which were then exchanged for lottery tickets. I demanded to stop the distribution. However, no one listened to me. Then, I took those calendars, began to tear and throw them away into a garbage can," said Sergey Basmanov during the court session.

The human rights defender claims that, shortly after the incident, Viktor Teplyakov, the deputy head of the Sochi Branch of the "Edinaya Rossiya" (United Russia) Party, came to the electoral precinct.

"He demanded that policemen should force me out. The policemen fulfilled his command and without any reason brought me to the Khosta police station, where they completed a protocol on disorderly conduct. No one took notice of my explanations about violations, occurred at the electoral precinct," says Sergey Basmanov.

According to him, "Judge Podkopaeva failed to grant motions to summon witnesses, including Viktor Teplyakov, the initiator of the conflict, to the trial."

Sergey Basmanov stated that he had already filed a complaint against the decision of Judge Podkopaeva, and the complaint should be considered in the court of the Khosta District. Viktor Teplyakov was not present at the court session on the case against Sergey Basmanov.

Sergey Basmanov was taken into custody immediately after the announcement of the court decision about the 10-day arrest. The human rights defender will be released from the custody only on January 1, 2012.

Comments of Viktor Teplyakov, the deputy head of the Sochi Branch of the "Edinaya Rossiya" Party, are still unavailable. The court refused to comment on the arrest of Sergey Basmanov.