Ecologist Suren Gazaryan complains of beating and confiscation of equipment near summer cottage of Governor of Krasnodar Territory

Beatings, seizure of equipment and forced detentions were reported today by Suren Gazaryan, a member of the "Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus", and his advocate Victor Dutlov; the incident happened in the Krasnodar Territory, in the forest near the summer cottage of Governor Alexander Tkachov.

Today at 5:45 p.m., the journalist Yuri Vlasov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that literally five minutes before that, during his telephone communication with Suren Gazaryan, who at that moment with his lawyer was in the forest near Tkachov's cottages in the Tuapse District, the activists were detained by securities. "There were shouts heard; then the connection was broken," he said.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent managed to contact Suren Gazaryan on the phone. "Employees of the Private Security Enterprise 'Neva' have illegally deprived us of freedom, took away my belongings, handcuffed me, and forced us down into the territory. Now, Dzhubga policemen have arrived here. Securities stole my telephone and photo camera; for some reason the police then decided to take away my camera," said Gazaryan; however, he was not allowed by policemen to finish the conversation.

So far, the on duty police unit of the village of Dzhubga gives no information about the incident in the Blue Bay, noting only that the investigatory team has left for the place of the incident.