In Sochi, pensioner claims being unlawfully detained and his car being seized by policemen

Starting from mid-December, in Sochi, 64-year-old pensioner Valery Rogachov cannot get his car, which was seized by policemen. He believes the policemen unlawfully seized the vehicle and broke the law by falsifying a case of offence.

According to Valery Rogachov, in the evening of December 16, 2013, he was stopped while driving his Ford Focus car, in Transportnaya Street not far from the shopping centre "Olymp". "GIBDD (road police) staff members began to rudely demanding my vehicle documents and driving license, without explaining the reasons to stop me. Besides, they refused to clearly introduce themselves," the Sochi resident told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"I was forced out of my car. They wrung my hands back, handcuffed me and forced me into a GIBDD car. My car was left standing on the roadway. They seized the keys from my car. I did not understand what was happening and where and for what I was being taken," the pensioner states.

"Later, in about ten days, I learned that the policemen asked the court to impute to me the charge under Part 1 of Article 19.3 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation 'Disobedience to lawful order or demand of a policeman'," Valery Rogachov has said. According to the pensioner, the car was not returned to him, although no protocol about the detention of the vehicle had been presented to him.

"The actions of the policemen on fact of unjustified failure to return the vehicle to its owner should be estimated by staff members of the Prosecutor's Office and the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF), to where Valery Rogachov has appealed," advocate Marina Dubrovina has said.