A candidate for the Kazan City Duma was forced to admit to an action against amendments to the Constitution

Kazan opposition leader Dmitry Rumyantsev was forced to confess to hanging a banner against amendments to the Constitution. This was reported to OVD-Info by Vladimir Kolodtsev, an acquaintance of the detainee, acting coordinator of the "Left Front" in Kazan.

Rumyantsev was detained at the exit of the public chamber, where he arrived to register as an observer in the July 1 elections. The activist was taken to the Department for Combating Group Crimes. There he was persuaded to confess to organizing a protest against the amendments.

“What are you losing? What do you have to lose at all, ”the man says in an audio message that Rumyantsev managed to publish before his phone was taken away. The voice is believed to be that of a police officer.

A rally against the amendments, in whose organization Rumyantsev was forced to confess, took place in Kazan on June 22. Then, at the entrance to the city, a banner “1.07 say no to eternal Putin” appeared. The authors of the action are unknown. The website of the “No” movement is indicated on the banner itself.

On June 23, Rumyantsev announced his candidacy for the Kazan City Duma. The next day, he was detained at his house on suspicion of drug possession. He was examined without witnesses. According to Kolodtsev, then the police told Rumyantsev that he was "behaving too boldly" and "the next time they might plant drugs on him."

“I try my best to shut his mouth. He is one of the most honest and sensible activists I know,” says Kolodtsev. “This [detention] is directly related to his active citizenship.”

Rumyantsev was released two hours after his arrest. According to Kolodtsev, the activist is going to "gather his thoughts and eat," which he planned to do after a visit to the public chamber.