Law enforcers' interest in Navalny's supporter in Stavropol worries activists

Law enforcer have interrogated Tatiana Glinberg, the former coordinator of Navalny's office* in Stavropol, and then released her. Her persecution fits into the trend of systematic expelling of Navalny's supporters from Russia, the local activists interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Tatiana Glinberg, the former head of Navalny's office* in Stavropol, was repeatedly arrested in connection with protest actions. Thus, on January 29, 2021, she was sentenced to five days in custody for announcing a protest action.

This time, she was detained by the police in the afternoon on July 22. Tatiana was taken to the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) for the Stavropol Territory, where she was interrogated as a witness in the Navalny case. At about 2:00 p.m. Moscow time, Glinberg was released, the "OVD Info" has reported.

Artyom Gavrilov, a designer and one of those detained at the April rally for Navalny in Stavropol, is sure that the persecution of Glinberg fits into the trend of systematic expelling of Navalny's supporters from Russia: the pressure exerted by law enforcers on activists should ultimately force them to leave the country, where their activities will not interfere with the current government.

A similar opinion was expressed by Ekaterina Ponomarenko, the coordinator of the Stavropol branch of the "Golos" (Vote) movement. She stated that it is "obvious" to her that even the grassroots civic activism is a threat to the authorities, and that the latter are trying to destroy the opposition as much as possible, by expelling most politically active residents. "Authorities are trying to show the population that it is not worth being even a little active," Ms Ponomarenko told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

*On June 9, 2021, the Moscow City Court found Alexei Navalny's offices to be extremist organizations. By the Court's judgement, the operation of Navalny's offices was stopped.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 23, 2021 at 05:41 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.