In Sochi, militia release American journalist

Kit Gessen, a correspondent of the American magazine named "New-Yorker", was released after checking his documents at the Sochi Department of Internal Affairs (UVD).

As reported by Ilya Yashin, head of Boris Nemtsov's electoral office, the journalist was detained by OMON fighters at polling station 4602 in the vicinity of Mamaika.

"After check of documents and establishment of his person, the US citizen delivered to the police station was released," the "Interfax" quotes Alexander Erenburg, head of the press centre of Sochi UVD.

The formal basis for Gessen's detention was the absence of Sochi registration on him. Later, the city electoral commission also stated that the journalist was not accredited at the election. Now, Mr Gessen is back at the Nemtsov's electoral office to continue his work, as the "Echo Moskvy" Radio reports.

According to Mr Yashin, a message arrived to Nemtsov's office about a throw-in of faked ballot papers at station 4602, and the American journalist went there together with Yashin.

As Ilya Yashin asserts, the chair of the local electoral commission Valentina Krzhizhanovskaya refused to accept the application from Nemtsov's representatives, and called the militia. 15 OMON fighters headed by a Major, who arrived by the telephone call, would not get into the situation and asked to show documents - having seen Kit Gessen's American passport, the militiamen took away his documents and the journalist himself in an unknown direction.