DPNI leader arrested in Karelia

On August 29, 2007, in Petrozavodsk, transport police officers, as part of the planned operational-preventive operation “Search,” detained the leader of the Movement against Illegal Immigration (DPNI), Alexander Potkin (Belov), who was heading to Kondopoga.

When asked by the police to show his passport, A. Belov stated that he had no documents and “began to express his dissatisfaction with the work of the police, and then insulted its employees in an obscene form.” During a personal search, the detainee was found to have railway tickets on which he was traveling from Moscow to Medvezhyegorsk, issued in someone else’s name.

On August 29, 2007, the Petrozavodsk court decided to administratively arrest A. Belov for a period of 5 days for disobedience to law enforcement officers. On August 30, 2007, A. Belov, according to his lawyers, went on a hunger strike (3 days before the end of his administrative arrest). On September 3, A. Belov was released and departed by train for Moscow.

A. Belov was going to speak in Kondopoga at a funeral meeting dedicated to the murder of two local residents, whose funeral resulted in mass anti-Caucasian protests.

Let us recall that a criminal case was initiated against A. Potkin under Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in December 2006.

Let us note that the detention of the DPNI leader is preventive. Let us emphasize that we witnessed his repeated public obscene statements addressed to law enforcement officers. Once A. Belov was already detained for obscene statements, however, as far as we know, this did not entail any administrative consequences.

Kramskikh A., Sokovnin A. Alexander Belov did not present documents addressed to Potkin / and was detained // Kommersant. 2007. August 31.

Sources

• DPNI leader arrested in Karelia for disobedience to police // REGNUM news agency. 2007. August 30.
• In Karelia, the leader of the Movement against Illegal Immigration, Alexander Belov, was detained // IA REGNUM. 2007. August 29.
• The DPNI leader, arrested in Petrozavodsk, went on a “dry” hunger strike, demanding a mattress // NEWSRU.com. 2007. August 31.
• The DPNI leader detained in Karelia has been released // NEWSRU.com. 2007. September 3. *