"Did we have the 37th year?"

In mid -March, in Magadan, the Investigative Committee brought a criminal case under part 1 of Article 319 "Public Insulting a representative of power." The mayor of the city of Yuri Grishan was considered offended. The case was initiated against the members of the WhatsApp group "For the return of the mayor's election."

The city deputies canceled the direct elections of the mayor of the city in Magadan in 2013, explaining their decision with the high cost of the elections and the low explicit of voters. Since then, in Magadan, deputies appointed two mayors: in 2013, Sergey Abramov (now the chairman of the regional Duma) was appointed by decision of the local Duma to the post of mayor, and in 2015, the mayor of the city, the decision of the deputies became Yuri Grishan.

Last autumn, in WhatsApp, the townspeople created a group for the return of direct elections of the mayor of the city and the resignation of the current mayor. As the activist Dmitry Zhurov told the Siberia.m. Reali correspondent, 400 people were enrolled in the group in the very first days. The main city problems were actively discussed here: the attack of stray dogs on children in Magadan, an ineffective organization of snowballs that fell on the network of a video in which the mayor of the city danced at the wedding of a local “fishing” businessman in the municipal house of culture, searches in the mayor of Magadan on the criminal case on the closest comrade -in -arms of the mayor - the head of the information policy department Oleg Dudnik.

December 9, 2017 in Magadan took place The first rally for the return of direct elections of the mayor of Magadan and the resignation of the current mayor Yuri Grishan. Since then, five similar shares have already been held, for which the organizers gathered from 30 to 70 people.

In fact, I do not really understand what is happening. Did we have a 37th year?

Now persecutions began on the activists of the movement in the city. On March 19, the court found guilty of organizing a protest rally on February 4, 2018, Ragnara Rhine (he was one of the initiators of the creation of Navalny’s headquarters in Magadan). At the same time, Ragnar Rein brought three witnesses to the meeting, who confirmed that they staged a rally for the return of the elections, including conducting reports of the coming event through social networks. Rhine witnesses said that they were instructed for volunteers and controlled the course of the rally itself. Nevertheless, the court literally “appointed” the Rhine by the organizer of the action and sent him under arrest for 10 days. On the same day, the opposition announced a hunger strike in protest against a court decision. On March 30, the Rhine was released

“I announced a hunger strike and lasted 10 days,” he says, “now I feel normally, returned to my family.” I have no complaints about the employees of the special receiver, everything behaved correctly and even friendly. I understand that they have such work, and they understand it. We talked a lot with some of the police, found the points of contact of our views. But to the judge of Cherkasova, who planted me for 10 days, despite all the evidence, photo and video, and just common sense, there is a complaint. I tried to appeal the case in the regional court, but the decision was left unchanged, now I will go to the Supreme Court. I believe that this case is really political, because the judge at the first meeting did not even try to figure out the situation, practically did not listen to the witnesses, interrupted them, refused their petitions. This is a trial, not a court. I do not refuse to return the election of the mayor of Magadan and continue to continue to do what my conscience tells me.

Two members of the WhatsApp group for the return of the mayor’s elections in the city of Natalia and Vasily Konyakhin investigators seized phones as part of an investigation into a criminal case instituted under part 1 of article 319 (“Public Insulting of a representative of the authorities”).

According to Natalia , the police came to her house on the evening of March 21 at about 19:00, one of the police officers introduced himself as an employee of the terrorism department.

“I was asked about the message where in the group, probably in December, someone obscenely put it to the mayor of Magadan,” says Natalya. - As I understand it, it was a repost of the message that was commented on in the group. I explained that I do not experience personal hostility to the mayor of the city, I am not an active member of the group, not an activist, not a terrorist. But, like any driver on a low car, I was indignant at the unclean roads and courtyards, expressing my opinion, but without "obsceneity." In fact, I do not really understand what is happening. Did we have a 37th year?

Now Natalia is going on as a witness in the case.

Vasily Konyakhin says that out of the four security officials who came to them, only one introduced himself. He turned out to be a police officer. Others never presented their documents. According to Konyakhin, he, being a hunter, first thought that these people wanted to examine the guns. But later he was read out a court ruling in which there was a permission to search the apartment and to withdraw a mobile phone from which he wrote messages in the general group in WhatsApp.

“While I was asked to give an explanation about the messages that people wrote in the Closed Group of WhatsApp, dedicated to the return of the mayor of Magadan,” he told the Siberia.m. Real to the correspondent, “I didn’t even quite understand what messages were talking about, it was before the New Year, for a long time. I was immediately told that since the person we discussed is a representative of the authorities, a criminal case has been opened. So far, a linguistic examination has been appointed, and then we'll see.

The phone was returned to Konyakhin two days later. He himself wrote a statement to the prosecutor’s office about the actions of the police and expressed concern in him that his phone would be opened and entered there some kind of discrediting information.

- According to the circumstances of the case, I will pass a witness, although the first time I hear that the witnesses seize phones by court order. Apparently, our mayor was very offended by the words that were in correspondence in this group. In general, this is a group for internal communication and is not the media. We have democracy, and statements should take place. But in our country, the laws were drawn, where it turned, it turned out there. In addition, I saw that investigators have a list of contacts. I was on the second list, Natalia was the first. I believe that in the future they will call these people according to the list, to take explanatory ones from them, ”says Konyakhin.

In his opinion, the authorities are trying to "distract from real city problems and scare active people with such actions." He explains his presence in the group with confidence that "the mayor of the city must answer to the townspeople, and not to the deputies who appointed him."

The representative of the press service of the Investigative Committee of Magadan Andrei Nesterenko said that "if the investigation has reason to believe that the phone has information for further investigation, it has the right to seize these devices, conduct examinations and decide: either recognize as material evidence or return . "

They seized the phone from two more residents of Magadan. To Elena Mathe - the mothers of three children, on March 28, four policemen in masks and weapons came to withdraw the phone. She not only consists in the group for the return of the mayor’s elections, but also collects signatures for the resignation of Yuri Grishan.

“I believe that this is some kind of intimidation action for activists who advocate the return of direct elections of the mayor and criticize the activities of the mayor Yuri Grishan,” says Elena.

WhatsApp was also installed on its mobile device. Law enforcement officers told her that a criminal case was opened on her, but she did not know her status and her status.

I understand everything, but I'm not going to give up

Entrepreneur Dmitry Pushkov also spoke about the pressure of the security forces. Together with his brother, he owns an enterprise for the production of log houses, building materials, prefabricated houses and other wood products. Their quite successful business was on the verge of collapse. The troubles of the brothers began after they called for the unification of local supporters of Alexei Navalny. A criminal case was instituted against the Pushkovs, they arrested wood - the main raw material for production.

“The third investigator has already changed in the case, and it doesn’t move anywhere,” Dmitry Pushkov told Siberia. REALIAS. - The investigator just called recently and admitted that he did not see the grounds for continuing it. But they will not close the matter. I know that in this way they want to deprive us of earnings, because leaving a woodworking enterprise without raw materials means to doom it into bankruptcy.

On the evening of March 28, the security forces burst into a search in the apartment in which his brother lives. They said that Pushkov also passes a witness in the case of a public insult to a representative of the authorities (part 1 of article 319):

“I advocate the return of the direct elections of the mayor of Magadan,” says Dmitry Pushkov, “because I think that I was taken away from choosing those in whom I see the potential of the manager.” In the current, appointed by the deputies, I do not see such potential.

Pushkov assures that the mayor Grishan himself wrote a statement to him. At the Magadan City Hall, the actions of the security forces are not commented on in any way.