Participant of rally "He's not our tsar!" in Rostov-on-Don arrested for seven days

The Kirov District Court of Rostov-on-Don has ruled to arrest Vladimir Khripun, an activist detained at an action against Putin's inauguration, for seven days. His advocate claims that he had been beaten up by law enforcers.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 5, after the rally "He's not our tsar!", held on the eve of Vladimir Putin's inauguration, Sergey Grivko, the coordinator of the Rostov office of Alexei Navalny, and Vladimir Khripun, an activist, were detained.

In the morning, Grivko and Khripun were taken to the Kirov District Court of Rostov-on-Don.

Vladimir Ivakhnenko, an activist, who spoke at the court session as a defence witness, said that Khripun had been beaten up by law enforcers.

Galina Gribenyukova, an advocate, has stated that Vladimir Khripun had physical bodily injuries. "There were abrasions and bloody scratches on the left side of his back. I have an audio record of law enforcers' actions," she told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Igor Bykov, another Khripun's advocate, said that the activist was convicted under Part 1, Article 20.1, of the Code of Administrative Offenses (petty hooliganism).

According to Mr Bykov, the administrative protocol states that on May 5, Vladimir Khripun "behaved aggressively and used foul language, thus, committing an act of petty hooliganism, coupled with disobedience to policemen." However, other activists of the Navalny's office assert that Khripun just tried to find out from law enforcers the fate of Sergey Grivko, the detained coordinator of the office.

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