In Sochi, picket held against actions of head of Department for Family and Children Affairs of City Mayoralty

On July 24, near the building of the Sochi Mayoralty, lawyer Roman Shikarev held a solo picket against the actions of the head of the Department for Family and Children Affairs of the Sochi administration. The picketer claimed violation of the rights of a girl sought by her relatives.

In Sochi, relatives of a seven-year-old girl were not able to find out her whereabouts for a year. Two men Evgeny Serdyukov and Georgy Rusiya claim the rights on paternity of the girl. Her mother died in February 2012. Zoya Kuchmenko, the girl's grandmother, said that the relatives did not see the child since June 20, 2012. The girl was put on the wanted list. On July 12, 32-year-old Georgy Rusiya was charged under Article "Unlawful deprivation of freedom" of the Criminal Code of the Russian   Federation.

In the evening of July 17, the girl was brought to the Investigating Department of Sochi by Lydia Rusiya, the mother of Georgy Rusiya. On July 18, despite the attempts of the girl's relatives to take the child with them, Nona Kardava, the head of the Department for Family and Children Affairs, made the decision to send the child to the rehabilitation centre "Rodnik" (Spring).

"I decided to hold a picket, since the rights of the minor child are flagrantly violated," Roman Shikarev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. The picketer has explained that he defends the rights of the child at the request of Evgeny Serdyukov and the girl's relatives of from her mother's side.

The lawyer believes that Nona Kardava has initiated the placement of the child to the rehabilitation centre "Rodnik", being not entitled for making such a decision.