A protocol was drawn up against Moscow activist Alexey Sokirko for violating the rules for holding a picket (Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses) because of a T-shirt with the inscription "I am against Putin." He himself wrote about this on his Facebook page.
The activist was detained by police on the street in Moscow for "propaganda". They did not explain what exactly this consisted of.
At the police station, Sokirko was interrogated. There he again tried to find out the reasons for his detention. "I explained my negative attitude towards Putin, but to soften the conversation, I switched to history, explained that I had a bad attitude towards both Lenin and Stalin," the activist said.
When Sokirko asked if it was okay to wear T-shirts with the words "I am against Stalin," the police called doctors from a psychiatric hospital to the department. The doctor who arrived called the activist's wife, who said that there were no problems in their family and, in her opinion, the man was mentally healthy. "The doctor agreed with his wife and also agreed with me that Lenin was disgusting," he wrote.
The medics left the police department, finding no reason to hospitalize him. Then a “nervous Rosgvardiya officer” came to the department, shouting, demanding, and taking pictures. After him, a criminal investigation officer came to Sokirko, and from his first sentence “he was going to send him to prison for a year.” “I talked to him as best I could, but at some point the officer switched to informal address and started swearing, calling me a “Navalny supporter” and “an enemy of the people,” the activist said in the post. The security officer also demanded that the man unlock his phone, and when he refused, he “yelled a little more” and left.
A couple of hours later, police officers at Sokirko drew up a report under the protest article and demanded that he take off his T-shirt, citing the fact that it was material evidence.
"I took it off because I had a spare one. The spare one had a peace sign painted on it. All the employees (5 people) looked at each other questioningly. The criminal investigation officer was the first to show up and shouted: "You're a hippie, how come I didn't realize it right away! Then wear it like that. You can wear this T-shirt." The senior officer didn't believe him, went to call the E center, and they gave the go-ahead for "hippie clothing," Sokirko wrote.
- On February 17, Alexey Sokirko was detained for laying flowers at the Wall of Grief in Moscow in memory of Alexey Navalny. The man was released on the same day with a warning. On February 27, the activist was detained again and given a warning for the same reason.