Vladimir Ivanyutenko, a participant in the “Putin Rides on Pensioners” campaign, has disappeared in St. Petersburg.

Human rights activists in St. Petersburg cannot find Vladimir Ivanyutenko, a participant in the “Putin Rides Pensioners” campaign. Human rights activist Dinar Idrisov reported this to OVD-Info.

There is currently no information about Ivanyutenko’s whereabouts. The activist has not been in contact since February 19. That day, uniformed and plainclothes police officers came to his home. Ivanyutenko’s neighbor in the communal apartment informed Idrisov about the visit of law enforcement officers.

The telegram channel “Detainee Assistance Groups” reports that, according to information from activists Shakhnaz Shitik and Andrey Zhaksimbaev, Ivanyutenko could have been detained by FSB officers.

At the end of September 2018, a court in St. Petersburg arrested Vladimir Ivanyutenko for ten days for the action “We won’t last until retirement,” during which the activist portrayed Putin riding on pensioners. He was found guilty of repeated violation of the rules of the event (Part 8 of Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code). Last week, the St. Petersburg City Court upheld the activist’s already served arrest.

UPD 18:10 Dinar Idrisov told OVD-Info that a criminal case was opened against Ivanyutenko under the article on illegal possession of weapons (Article 222 of the Criminal Code). Part of the article is unknown. Currently, the activist is in the Nevsky District Court, where a preventive measure is being chosen for him.

In court, Ivanyutenko’s interests are represented by a state lawyer. According to Idrisov, the court refused to interrupt the hearing and wait for the lawyer to arrive by agreement. At the moment, it is known that since the night of February 20, Ivanyutenko has been in a temporary detention center. Where he had been all day before is unknown.

• On September 8, police detained Vladimir Ivanyutenko and Evgeniya Litvinova, who took part in an action where Putin drove a cart pulled by pensioners. A few weeks later they were detained again and then taken to court.
• In December 2017, unknown persons with a knife and a stun gun attacked Ivanyutenko, after which he ended up in intensive care with injuries to internal organs. A year later, he reported that he identified the man who attacked him as Valery Amelchenko, a former employee of the structures of businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin. Amelchenko became famous after Novaya Gazeta published his story about working for Prigozhin, including his participation in attacks on oppositionists.