Sochi court marshals disrupt activist Barkhatova's solo picket

A solo picket against corruption, held by Irina Barkhatova, a resident of Sochi, was stopped by court marshals, who detained the woman.

Irina Barkhatova went out to her picket in the afternoon on March 29. She stood with a poster, composed in the form of a pack of cigarettes with a portrait of Vladimir Putin and a warning inscription: "Corruption kills", near the Sochi Mayoratly, where she was detained by court marshals. She was kept for three hours and then released.

"I stood there for about an hour; policemen approached and went away; they apparently did not dare to violate my right to picketing. But suddenly court marshals appeared," Ms Barkhatova told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. She explained that they served her a summons on the detention of a debtor for enforcement proceedings, which was initiated right on the day of her picket.

Irina Barkhatova has confirmed that earlier she was fined by 20,000 roubles, which she could not pay because of her poor material situation, about which she had already informed court marshals. "I already reported and wrote that I can't pay the fine of 20,000 roubles, because I am a single mother, have no job, and I have a minor dependent child with me... Therefore, it's clear that I'm not evading the fine imposed on me," said the woman.

As a result, she explained, court marshals disrupted the picket, which she held within the law.

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