In Chelyabinsk, volunteers of Navalny’s headquarters were detained by the Russian Guard

In Chelyabinsk, volunteers from the local headquarters of Alexei Navalny Alexander Belyaev and Nikita Dvoretsky were detained at night by the Russian Guard. Belyaev himself informed OVD-Info about this.

The activists were detained near the house when they went to the pharmacy. Law enforcement officers claimed that they would find "at least 10 orientations" to take the volunteers to the police department. In addition, the National Guard tried to take away phones and passports from the activists. They also asked where Belyaev was studying, but he refused to speak, citing Article 51 of the Constitution. When the volunteers were released, the activist noticed that a car of the National Guard periodically passes near their house.

Belyaev believes that the visit of law enforcement officers is connected with a lecture by a member of the Libertarian Party Mikhail Svetov, which was held on May 19. Volunteers took part in the organization of the lecture.

With Belyaev and Dvortsev there was a minor girlfriend who is also a volunteer of Navalny's headquarters. She left the house later, which allowed her to avoid the attention of the National Guard. On May 5, law enforcement officers threatened her with a criminal case - on the day of the “He is not our king” action, the girl was detained at the exit from the house. The police officers explained their actions by saying that the activist looked like a swindler from an orientation, but the orientation itself was not shown to the girl even in the department. After her arrest, she was given a demand to appear at the prosecutor's office on the same day, and the prosecutor's office issued a warning about participating in the rally. Law enforcers claimed that a criminal case had already been opened against the girl, but she did not see the case materials.

UPD 16:46 The press service of the Department of the Russian Guard in the Chelyabinsk region contacted OVD-Info and said that the law enforcement officers only wanted to make sure that the young people were not on the wanted list. According to a spokesman for the press service, the National Guardsmen left immediately after checking the documents of the activists.

We note that according to the law that regulates the work of the Russian Guard, its employees have the right to check documents if there is reason to suspect a citizen of committing a crime or to believe that he is wanted, if there is a reason to initiate an administrative case against a person, and also if there are grounds for his arrest.