Krasnodar law enforcers interrupt picket against torture

Today, in Krasnodar, Alexei Nikitin has held a solo picket with the demand to stop torturing detainees and close a special detention centre of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). The picketer has stated that law enforcers detained him, but the police claim that they simply had a conversation with Alexei Nikitin.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 4, Alexei Nikitin also held a picket against torture at the special detention centre.

Today, Alexei Nikitin has come to a solo picket in front of the regional MIA's building. He unfolded a poster with an appeal to law enforcers reading: "Stop torturing people."

At 11:20 a.m. Moscow time, a district police inspector approached the activist and claimed that Alexei Nikitin was violating public order. The policeman demanded from the picketer to go with him to a police station, Alexei Nikitin reported. "I have several times asked him to clarify if that was a detention or just a request. He categorically confirmed that was a detention," the picketer noted.

According to Alexei Nikitin, he was brought to the police station. Right from there, he phoned the police and complained about the law enforcer's actions. "Several minutes after my call, the policeman told me that he did not detain me at all and said that I was free."

The policeman who took Alexei Nikitin to the police station refuses to consider that act as a detention. "The picketer was not detained. A conversation was held with him, and that's all," the policeman told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 23, 2018 at 05:48 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.