Volgograd resident Ivan Shmalyuk complains to police about being beaten

Ivan Shmalyuk, who stood against the demolition of cottages in the Dzerzhinsk District of Volgograd, complained to the police about his detention near the building of the regional administration and his beating.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 11, at the authorities' request, the court ordered tenants of seven cottages in the Dzerzhinsk District to demolish their houses, since they had been recognized as buildings constructed without permission. The residents suggested the authorities to conclude the amicable agreement with them. The Prosecutor's Office has also interfered in the dispute. However, on March 16, the Regional Court upheld the decision to demolish the houses.

On March 17, Elena Ivashinenko, a tenant of the house in No. 35 in Enotaevskaya Street, held a solo picket in front of the regional administration. The woman tried to draw the authorities' attention to the problem of the tenants. According to Ivan Shmalyuk, an official of the regional administration invited him and Elena Ivashinenko for a conversation and then tried to lock them in one of the rooms.

"We were accompanied into a room. Then, they closed the door and illegally kept us there," states Ivan Shmalyuk. And he continues: "We have managed to somehow escape from there. A woman from the administration has hit me and injured my hand. But we've managed to get out of there. I filed a complaint to the police, and they gave me an assignment to undergo a medical examination." According to the man, he has filed a complaint to the Central ROVD (District Interior Division).

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