The protest picket in Voronezh was dispersed, its participants were detained

On November 16, 2005, during the congress of the Young Guard of United Russia in Voronezh, two opposition pickets took place.

A protest picket against the cancellation of a concert in the city center was dispersed, and the police used unmotivated violence, including against elderly people. During the arrest, Voronezh Regional Duma deputy Andrei Rogatnev was hit in the face. Deputies of the Voronezh City Duma, communist Andrei Pomerantsev, and deputy chairman of the regional branch of the Union of Right Forces, Alexander Boldyrev, were injured in the brawl.

According to the Kommersant newspaper, Rogatnev and Garshin intend to contact the prosecutor's office with a demand to open a criminal case for abuse of power and assault by police officers.

A total of 5 people were detained, including three members of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, one National Bolshevik and the leader of the Youth "Motherland", a candidate for deputy of the Moscow City Duma. Sergey Shargunov.

The detainees were taken to the Central District Department of Internal Affairs of Voronezh, where, as S. Shargunov reported, he was “dragged for interrogation and demanded to admit that I participated in an illegal rally.” Observers suggested that the oppositionists would remain in the police until the end of the United Russia Young Guard congress, that is, until the evening of November 17. The assumptions were justified: on the night of November 18, 2005, the detainees were fined 500 rubles and released from custody.

On the evening of November 16, 2005, the police detained the press secretary of the Voronezh branch of the NBP, Konstantin Makarov, NBP activist Sergei Dolgikh, who participated in the morning action, which took place peacefully, as well as representatives of the anarchist movement.

According to the director of programs of the Foundation for Environmental and Social Justice, Alexey Kozlov

Simonova M. Anti-bearish demarche // Kommersant. 2005. November 18.

Sources

• Picketers paid 500 rubles for a fight with Voronezh police // Lenta.Ru. 2005. November 18.
• Voronezh: NBP and Communist Party activists detained // NBP-Info. 2005. November 17.