Police in Sochi detained the candidate from "Yabloko", Atamanchuk.

The candidate for the State Duma from the South single-member district No. 54, Vladimir Atamanchuk, was detained in Sochi. According to Atamanchuk, a protocol was drawn up against him for discrediting the Russian army due to the wording of his election leaflet.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", in August, Vladimir Atamanchuk spoke about difficulties with election meetings: the heads of Sochi institutions refused him upon learning of his nomination from "Yabloko". "My campaign, one could say, is taking place underground," - he stated at that time to a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".

The detained candidate was taken to the police station of the Central district on Gorky Street, where an administrative protocol was drawn up, Atamanchuk himself told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot". He was charged with public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of Russia (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Offenses Code provides for a monetary fine).

The reason for the detention, according to the candidate, were fragments of his election leaflet: in particular, a call to conclude an "immediate ceasefire agreement", words about a "fratricidal conflict", and a statement about "rivers of blood and an ocean of human grief".

Atamanchuk claims that it was not possible to clarify which specific statement the security forces considered discrediting. "Major Andreev refused to explain what he saw as discrediting, who wrote a denunciation against me, and refused to provide a copy of the protocol on the charge and the detention protocol," - he said, referring to the police officer David Andreev who drew up the protocol.

"After being taken to the police, my fingerprints were taken and I was photographed from the front and profile, like a dangerous criminal," - the candidate recounted. According to him, the paperwork for the summons and administrative material took several hours, during which he could neither eat nor drink.

The duty officer of the Central district of Sochi informed a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" that he had no information about Atamanchuk's detention. David Andreev did not answer the correspondent's calls.

Competitor's lawsuit in the district

The day before, on September 9, an administrative lawsuit was filed in the Krasnodar Regional Court by the candidate from the same district, Andrei Titov, nominated by the Russian ecological party "Greens".

The application was registered at 14:39, accepted for processing at 16:51, and the hearing is scheduled for September 11 at 11:00, according to the case card on the court's website. The category of the dispute is designated as a case regarding the registration of a candidate nominated from a single-member district. The content of Titov's claims and their legal justification are not disclosed in the card, and the name of the judge is not indicated.

Titov is nominated from the South district No. 54, confirmed a duty officer of the Krasnodar Krai election commission to a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot". His candidacy for this district is also mentioned in the Central Election Commission's resolution from July 18.

As a result, on September 11, Atamanchuk has two events scheduled in different cities: at 11:00 Moscow time - a session of the regional court in Krasnodar, and at 14:30 - an appearance at the police in Sochi regarding the administrative material.

"The distance between Krasnodar and Sochi makes it impossible to attend both events at the scheduled time," - said the candidate. According to him, he intends to notify both the court and the police about the conflict, as he does not refuse to participate in the session or to appear.

After the cancellation of the registration of the federal list of "Yabloko", Atamanchuk retained his status as a registered candidate for district No. 54: single-member candidates participate in elections separately from the federal party list, previously explained to "Caucasian Knot" lawyer Elena Marchenko.

The new legal dispute, according to her, is of fundamental importance for the candidate. "This is no longer about the federal party list, but directly about his personal status as a candidate in the South single-member district," - emphasized the lawyer.

Atamanchuk associates the events with pressure during the election campaign and with public rivalry with the current State Duma deputy, United Russia member Konstantin Zatulin. As of the time of publication, no public evidence has been presented that Zatulin personally initiated the administrative or judicial prosecution of Atamanchuk.

In the past, Vladimir Atamanchuk has repeatedly been involved in administrative cases related to anti-war statements and the distribution of leaflets. In 2022, a criminal case was initiated against him for "discrediting" the army, and in 2023, candidate Norik Simonyan demanded through the court to remove Atamanchuk from the elections to the city assembly of Sochi. The Central District Court granted the claim, and the decision was appealed. In the appeal, Atamanchuk defended his interests independently - finding a lawyer for such a case in Sochi turned out to be extremely difficult.