Four Navalny’s supporters detained in Sochi

Activists have stated they were detained at a picket in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, which was sanctioned by city authorities, without explaining the reasons. Picketers illegally used balloons in the course of the action, the Mayoralty has stated.

The today’s picket in support of Alexei Navalny was sanctioned by the Mayoralty; however, in the course thereof four policemen approached the organizers and ordered to follow them to the police station, the picketers told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

At about 9:00 p.m., the activists were released from the station.

Now, all the four are drawing up complaints about the policemen’s actions: they assert that the latter, under far-fetched pretexts, detained them and disrupted the sanctioned event, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

Policemen took away balloons and a canister with helium, used for inflating them, from Olesya Khristosenko, the picket organizer.

"They wanted to accuse me of illegal use of a helium canister, with which we inflated our balloons. I wrote that these gas and balloons are used throughout the city; and I didn’t consider it illegal. They told me they’d send the canister and balloons to examination," Olesya Khristosenko told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.