How 75 people were detained as “against the king” in Yakutsk - the story of a local journalist

OVD-Info publishes the story of Oy Karpov, a journalist from Yakutia, about an inconsistent campaign in Yakutsk on May 5, 2018. 75 people were detained on it. Most of them were released, but on five still drew up protocols on various administrative articles.

More than a hundred people gathered, but there were a lot of "civilians." After a small rally, people went to “take a walk” from one square to another (from Ordzhonikidze Square to Lenin- OTD-info ), these are the main squares of the city, the distance between them is less than a kilometer. On each of the squares, the authorities gathered events, as it seemed to us, specially in contrast. While the audience talked, people in civilian clothes gathered in a separate group and, apparently, decided where to get. I heard scraps of their conversations: some wanted to take compactly in the square, others during the procession. Then the guys in the column went towards the third square, the Friendship Square is called, they did not manage to create an alternative event there, a lone singer stood on the stage and sang in front of two babies, almost alone. But the speakers broadcast loudly, and it was impossible to just communicate there. And in the distance there were already police buses, as they told me later.

The column turned and went back, towards Lenin Square. And there, half the way, there was a narrow section fenced, fenced with a construction "intestine", there the whole group was very competently and detained. They grabbed indiscriminately - journalists, passers -by, participants. But they were delayed rather softly: however, there were no resistants.

Well, then they delivered to the police and accumulated everyone in the assembly hall. One of the organizers made a roll call, my friends and I heard the figure of 85 people, but then he said in an interview that there were 75 detainees: apparently, we rustled.

Some activists seem to be delayed to the rally, but these are guesses. Among the detainees were very young guys, there were children. Age people were also, but in the minority. There was an elderly woman, she was called an ambulance: it seems she was frozen. At first they considered that she was taken by mistake, but, it turned out, a lady with an active position. My acquaintance of the 14-year-old son was detained, he lives in that area, and they took it by chance. By 20:00 they let everyone go, so, in any case, they write. As far as I know, they made no protocols. Explanatory ones were taken from the detainees, they asked the names of class teachers and parents from the children.