Radio Liberty journalist Yulia Vishnevetskaya disappeared after being arrested in Makhachkala

In Makhachkala, after being arrested, Radio Liberty journalist Yulia Vishnevetskaya disappeared for five days. Her husband Alexander Burtin told Mediazona about this; the chief editor of the Russian Reporter, Vitaly Leibin, also reports the disappearance of the journalist.

Later, Vishnevetskaya was found at a police station in the village of Karabudakhkent, about 40 kilometers from Makhachkala, her husband told Mediazona. The employees of this police department claimed that they did not have the journalist, but after the visit of the Public Monitoring Committee they confirmed that Vishnevetskaya was in this department. “Either they lied all day that she wasn’t there. Either they really took her somewhere,” Burtin added.

Today, September 28, the Sovetsky District Court of Makhachkala arrested Vishnevetskaya for five days. After that, she was taken to the Karabudakhkent police station, in a village near Makhachkala. The duty officer at the police department assured that the journalist was not there. Then, Leibin noted, according to POC member Omar Omarov, Vishnevetskaya was again taken to Makhachkala, but she was not in the city’s temporary detention facility.

There has been no contact with Vishnevetskaya for two days. “We are very concerned about the situation in which an administrative detainee disappears from places of detention. We are afraid that illegal methods of pressure may be applied to her,” Burtin emphasized.

Vishnevetskaya was detained at a rally in Makhachkala on September 26. She attended the protest on instructions from the editors. Since her arrest, lawyers and relatives have not been able to contact her. The court sentenced the journalist to five days of arrest on a protocol of violating the rules of participation in an action that resulted in obstruction of traffic (Part 6.1 of Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code).

Updated at 20:44 and 21:00. Added information that Vishnevetskaya was found and Burtin’s comment.