In the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, a shaman protesting against oil production near the lake was detained. A day earlier he was sentenced

In the Surgut region of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, police detained shaman and environmental activist Sergei Kechimov, who opposes oil extraction in the vicinity of Lake Imlor, sacred to the Khanty. This was reported by the project “Russia of Indigenous Peoples” with reference to the wife of the detainee.

Currently, Kechimov is in the police department of the village of Fedorovsky, he is charged with an article about disobedience to the demands of the police (Article 19.3 of the Administrative Code). According to the portal, the man was detained on December 14, when he was heading home to his camp on a snowmobile. He was stopped by traffic police officers to check his documents.

However, subsequently, as the authors of the project write, Kechimov “began to face claims that he was intoxicated.” At the same time, as the activist’s wife noted, her husband does not drink alcohol.

After this, the traffic police officers and Kechimov had a conflict, during which he “broke out and went into the forest.” Then the man, as the portal writes, went to his friend, whose house is located next to his camp in the vicinity of Lake Imlor. The police found out the whereabouts of the activist and detained him. “Six of us with pistols burst into the house, scared everyone, threw them to the floor, even hit us in the face,” the portal’s authors quote the words of Kechimov’s wife.

“Russia of Indigenous Peoples” suggests that the Investigative Committee may become involved in the case, so there is a risk of a criminal case being initiated against the activist under the article on the use of violence against a government official (Article 318 of the Criminal Code).

The portal’s authors emphasized that the day before his arrest, on December 13, the court sentenced Kechimov to six months of restricted freedom. The punishment was imposed in a criminal case initiated due to a conflict between the activist and employees of Surgutneftegaz: they carried out work near Kechimov’s camp and began cutting down trees.

“After a verbal altercation, a fight broke out, during which representatives of the oil company beat Kechimov. During the conflict, Kechimov had an ax with him, which he always keeps with him to carry out chores around the camp. Immediately after the incident, Surgutneftegaz employees wrote a statement to the police, claiming that Sergei Kechimov threatened them with an ax,” the portal reports.

As a result, the man was found guilty of threatening to kill or cause grievous bodily harm (Article 119 of the Criminal Code).

This is not the first criminal prosecution of the activist: in 2017, as Russia of Indigenous Peoples recalls, he was already found guilty under the same article - the reason was also a conflict with employees of Surgutneftegaz.

In 2014, an oil workers’ dog killed Kechimov’s deer, and then, according to him, attacked him, Kommersant wrote . Then the man shot the animal. After that, “oil workers with guns and a policeman came to the activist,” who “didn’t show his documents, only the stars on his shoulder straps.”

Kechimov, who does not know Russian, was allowed to sign documents - it turned out that it was a sincere admission that he had threatened a worker with a gun, the publication emphasizes. As a result, the shaman was sentenced to 30 hours of compulsory labor.

• Sergey Kechimov is a native Khanty, shaman and performer of folk songs. For many years he has been protesting against oil production by the Surgutneftegaz company in the vicinity of Lake Imlor, sacred to the Khanty. Kechimov also opposes environmental pollution in the area.