In Volgograd, participants in Navalny’s memorial event complain of pressure from police

In Volgograd, activists who laid flowers at the monument to victims of political repression in memory of Alexei Navalny were intimidated by the police. At least three persons are known to have been detained.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on February 16, on the anniversary of the Alexei Navalny’s death, his memory was honoured by his comrades in Russian cities, as well as Yerevan and Tbilisi.

Activists who laid flowers at the “Departing into the Sky” monument in memory of Alexei Navalny complained of pressure from the police.

“I laid flowers at the ‘Departing into the Sky’ monument ... A journalist approached me <...>. He filmed a video on his mobile phone, asked questions about why I was there and who I was laying flowers to ... I did not give him permission to film me,” said student Anastasia Borieva.

She noted that after the journalist asked her questions, two policemen approached her. They did not present their police IDs, but asked the student to show them her passport.

One of the participants of the memorial action said that after talking to the police, the activists were “clearly scared.”

A “Caucasian Knot” correspondent managed to find out that Volgograd politician Ilya Kravchenko and his friend Maxim Tulin were detained by the police. It also became known that Alexander Yefimov, a member of the “Yabloko” Party, a resident of the city of Volzhsky, was also detained. Alexander Yefimov has been charged with “demonstrating extremist symbols,” a source reports.

Lawyer and expert in international law Roman Melnichenko has emphasized that Russia, according to the Constitution, is a state governed by the rule of law, “which makes it very difficult for our law enforcers to carry out orders they receive.”

“A police inspector may not just walk up to a person and take him or her to a police station, fine, or draw up an administrative protocol: a law enforcer need a legal basis for the above actions,” lawyer Roman Melnichenko stated.

Since, according to the police, there is currently a threat of an emergency throughout the Volgograd Region, every citizen outside their home must have their passports with them, Roman Melnichenko has noted.