Greek tour

At noon on December 19, near the building of the Consulate General of Greece on Chernyshevsky Avenue, the police detained three people, among them Media SPb correspondent Alexei Dyachenko. The Left Front picket itself, held under the slogan “We stand in solidarity with the workers and youth of Greece!”, lasted several minutes. Law enforcement officers under the leadership of three majors and a lieutenant colonel promptly stopped the protest.
It is interesting that the protocol on the journalist’s delivery to the 78th police department indicates the reason - Article 20, paragraph 2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses: “Violation of the established procedure for organizing or holding a meeting, rally, demonstration, procession or picketing.”
According to Dyachenko, the picket was clearly not a surprise for the police. As soon as Vera Sizova, an activist of the Civil Initiatives Movement, unfolded the poster, two people in uniform and one in civilian clothes stood next to her, with a badge attached to her jacket. Photographer Yuri Larionov, who took a couple of shots of what was happening from a distance of 15 meters, and journalist Dyachenko, who filmed the picket from the side of the boulevard, did not go unnoticed.
“The policeman approached me shortly after the shooting began, and his goal was clear from his face - “Stop it immediately!” — Alexey told Novaya. — The passport and ID of a media employee did not make any impression at all, as did the explanations about the editorial task. The answer was simple: “Let’s go to the car, they will look at your documents.”
From the consulate building, the detainees were taken to the 78th police department. Here they drew up reports on all three of them and made an entry about it in the journal. Despite the reason for the detention of the media representative indicated in the protocol - the mentioned article of the Code of Administrative Offenses - Alexey was promptly released. After that, he went to the head of the department, Dmitry Sokolov, to write a statement in his name to explain the reasons for the detention.
“The boss was emphatically polite and even supportive, trying to chat with questions about work and salary. Where did you say you worked before? Where in the media do they pay more? — the journalist described the conversation with the police leader. “But I didn’t try to dissuade him from making a statement.” But instead of him, a certain Major Dmitry, who read the statement a little later, did it. However, his arguments did not find understanding among Alexey Dyachenko. And it is quite understandable - the journalist has the right to know why he was held in police custody for several hours.
Let us note that another picketer, an 80-year-old activist of the Left Front and the Alternative movement, “grandfather of the St. Petersburg opposition” Joseph Abramson, still managed to convey to the consulate staff an appeal addressed to the Prime Minister of young/ancient Hellas. The text, in particular, says: “We express our indignation at the actions of your government, which allows facts that are incompatible not only with the status of a rule-of-law state, which you position yourself to be, but also with the ideals of freedom and humanism that should guide the actions of the government of a democratic country. Hands off the people! Stop the repression!"
As Yuri Larionov told Novaya, the court hearing in the “Greek case” is scheduled for Wednesday, December 24.

The material was prepared jointly with the Internet portal “Lenizdat.ru”

Kirill SOVETOV, Valeria STRELNIKOVA