The Sverdlovsk court of Kostroma sentenced the former major of the Center "E" Eduard Volkov to three years probation. about this on Facebook writes The Public Verdict Foundation . In August 2017, during an action, Volkov hit Alexander Zykov, assistant coordinator of the local headquarters of Alexei Navalny.

Volkov pleaded not guilty. The state prosecution asked to sentence the former policeman to four years probation. Public Verdict lawyer Dmitry Yegoshin, who defended Navalny's supporter, disagrees with the verdict and intends to appeal it.

The police officer's defense previously stated that Volkov wanted to put his hand around Zykov's neck in order to talk, without the intention of beating him. According to the lawyer, the activists provoked Volkov for the sake of "popularity and the number of video views on the Internet." He added that the policeman had health problems that could cause involuntary head movement.

On August 5, 2017, supporters of Alexei Navalny installed a campaign cube in the local Hyde Park. The police arrived there, and Zykov argued with Major Volkov, who was in civilian clothes, about the legality of the action. Volkov grabbed Zykov by the neck and hit his head in the face, breaking his eyebrow to the point of blood. In September, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under the article on abuse of power with the use of violence (clause “a” part 3 of article 286 of the Criminal Code).

Policeman who hit Navalny supporter received three years probation