The leader of the Association of Carriers of Russia disappeared from the Smolninsky court

In St. Petersburg, the leader of the Association of Carriers of Russia (OPR), Andrei Bazhutin, disappeared from the Smolninsky District Court. Human rights activist Dinar Idrisov wrote about this on Facebook.

As Mikhail Granovsky reported to OVD-Info, Bazhutin was brought to court on the morning of December 27 from police department No. 76 to participate in a hearing in the case of a truck rally on April 15, 2017. As Idrisov noted, because of this action, the activist was charged with “organizing a procession with the participation of vehicles.”

On December 26, Bazhutin was supposed to be released from a special detention center, where he served 15 days for driving a car without a license. However, the activist was not allowed to go outside, but was put in a police car and, accompanied by two traffic police vehicles, “taken somewhere.”

On April 15, truck drivers protesting against the Platon system wanted to organize a car rally to Palace Square. Almost from the very beginning of the action, they were prevented by employees of the Russian Guard, police and traffic police, who subsequently detained eight activists. A protocol was drawn up against Bazhutin under Part 2 of Art. 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (organizing or holding a public event without filing a notification). For the rest - under Part 5 of Art. 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (violation by a participant of the procedure for holding a public event). The action is designated in the protocols as a “rally.”

In early December, Bazhutin again announced his intention to nominate his candidacy for the Russian presidential elections, which will be held on March 18, 2018.

• Bazhutin has been deprived of his rights for six months “for political reasons”, due to protests against the WHSD (Western High-Speed ​​Diameter - a toll highway in St. Petersburg).
• On December 12, the day of his arrest, bailiffs came to Bazhutin in connection with an unpaid fine of 30 thousand rubles “for organizing a strike.” According to Bazhutin, he was detained by employees of the Center for Combating Extremism, and the entire detention was a “planned operation.”