Head of Rotary Club treats detention of US citizens as unjustified

Sharon Tennyson, Director General of the Civil Initiatives Centre, and her interpreter Theodore McIntyre were fined for breaking the entry rules to Russia. In the local Rotary Club they conducted a conference on resumption of the programme of the Civil Initiatives Centre in Russia, having specified a tourist trip as the aim of their visit, said the spokesperson of the Tsentralny District Court of Volgograd.

In his turn, Pavel Shabalkov, President of the Rotary Club "Volgograd", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that at the moment of detention by the Federal Migration Service (FMS) Ms Tennyson and Mr McIntyre "did not hold any conference, but just talked to members of the club."

"The global Rotary Club movement brings together active people, who place society benefits above their personal goals. The movement categorically prohibits any political actions, influence on the authorities, etc.," said Pavel Shabalkov, adding that on February 16, Sharon Tennyson was invited to the meeting "as a guest of the club."

"She was given the floor to tell who she is and what she is doing. This was not a conference, and not a training session. In the middle of the meeting, a group of people in FMS vests and with video cameras appeared," said Pavel Shabalkov.

"After the meeting, the FMS officers checked the documents of our American guests and asked them to follow them to the FMS office," he added.

Mr Shabalkov, President of the Rotary Club "Volgograd", said that in the evening on February 16, the court ruled to impose a fine on the US citizens.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.