Yarst: charges of illegal drug possession in Sochi has to do with my professional activities

As stated by Nikolai Yarst, a journalist and a freelance reporter of the "Public Television of Russia" (PTR), his criminal prosecution initiated by the UVD (Interior Department) of Sochi and the charges of illegal possession and transportation of drugs are the result of his professional activities. He also stressed that the drugs had been planted on him.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 23 Nikolai Yarst and Philip Vasilenko, members of the filming group of the PTR, were detained in Sochi. UVD policemen found a package with substance of gray-green colour in their car. The UVD spokesman said that the detainees are suspected of possessing drugs. Today, Nikolai Yarst was charged with illegal possession of narcotics.

Tonight, Judge Nikolai Udovik of the Tsentralny District Court has considered the investigators' motion on Nikolai Yarst's freedom restraint measure. The judge decided to postpone the consideration by 72 hours and scheduled the hearing for 3:30 p.m. on June 3, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

He also noted that one of the policemen "got, without witnesses, onto the back seat of the car and pulled out an envelope, which, as they later explained to the journalist, contained some synthetic psychoactive substances".

"I realized immediately that the envelope was planted into the car, because I have never dealt with the drugs and I don't even smoke. The witnesses of the search stood behind, while the policeman, while inspecting the car, as I believe, planted these substances and then showed them to the witnesses. Policemen could not do it earlier, as the car stood for the whole night outside the house and was locked. Later we went to the drug clinic in Plastunskaya Street, where the doctor took my blood assay and gave the conclusion that I had no drugs in my blood," said Nikolai Yarst.

"There were no my fingerprints on the envelope with planted drugs," the journalist asserts.

"I believe that all these actions against me are directly related to the case of the stolen girl that I have tracing for a year. I was interested in one question - why aren't law enforcers looking for the baby? I was just going to get an official comment at the Investigating Committee, but what I got instead of comment you know - a criminal case for what I couldn't even imagine. And now attempts are taken again to 'close' me; probably not to allow me talking about the violations of my rights admitted by the investigation. I have no other explanation," said Nikolai Yarst.

Andrei Kovalenko, the head of the press service of the UVD, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that he "has no right to comment until the investigation is underway."