23:55, 21 January 2023

Activist from Poltavskaya complains about fabrication of a criminal case against her

A police officer talks to Natalia Garyaeva. November 16, 2022. Photo courtesy of Vadim Motovilov for the "Caucasian Knot"

The police launched an investigation into a complaint claiming that Natalia Garyaeva, an activist opposing the landfill in the Cossack village of Poltavskaya, ordered the murder of the official heading the administration of the Krasnoarmeisky District. This was reported by the activist herself who called the complainant’s version ungrounded.

On October 5, 2022, Andrei Garyaev, one of the leaders of the “Poltavskaya Against the Landfill” movement, was found dead. Opponents of the operation of the landfill associated the Andrei Garyaev’s suicide with the protests against the landfill and the pressure from the authorities. Natalia Garyaeva, the former wife of the businessman and the co-founder of the “Kamavtoresurs” Company, said that the man’s suicide was preceded by a court’s decision on a fine exceeding 30 million roubles.

Activists of the “Poltavskaya Against the Landfill” movement teamed up with the local organization “Zelenaya Stanitsa” (Green Cossack Village) to participate in trials on the claims of the prosecutor’s office and the administration of the Krasnoarmeisky District concerning the closure of the landfill, where household waste from other districts is being accumulated. On November 2, an official from the “Rosprirodnadzor” (Russian Federal Agency for the Supervision of Environment) said that the landfill “had no negative impact on the environment.”

Natalia Garyaeva, the head of the public council for the closure of the landfill in the Cossack village of Poltavskaya, was summoned to the police to explain the complaint filed against her. According to the complaint, the activist and her former husband Andrei Garyaev paid their employee 350,000 roubles for the murder of Yuri Vasin, the head of the administration of the Krasnoarmeisky District, and undermining the bridge leading to the landfill, the “Kavkaz.Realii”* reports.

The activist did not rule out that the complaint could be used to put pressure on her.

According to Natalia Garyaeva, the complaint was filed by a former employee of Andrei Garyaev. “He worked for my former husband as a manager. Recently, the man was released from prison and constantly stayed in a state of alcoholic intoxication. He was recently arrested for disorderly conduct,” said Natalia Garyaeva as quoted by the “Kommersant”.

Let us remind you that residents of the Cossack village of Poltavskaya complain about environmental problems arising because of the landfill. On September 5, 2022, protesters blocked the road for garbage trucks.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 21, 2022 at 01:50 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: Caucasian Knot