After picket, Krasnodar doctor accused of discrediting Russian militaries

Law enforcers have drawn up a protocol on discrediting the Russian Armed Forces against Vitaly Nikolaev, a dentist, who held a pacifist picket in central Krasnodar.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Kuban (Krasnodar Territory) residents are regularly taking part in protests against the special operation in Ukraine, after which many of them are held accountable, including under the articles on discrediting the Russian Army. Thus, on April 25, a court in Sochi fined Vyacheslav Chistoserdov, a local activist, by 30,000 roubles under the article about discrediting the Russian Armed Forces because he distributed leaflets condemning the special operation in Ukraine.

The 42-year-old dental surgeon, Vitaly Nikolaev, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that he had been detained near the territorial administration with an A-3 sheet of paper depicting the Ukrainian flag and a pacifist slogan.

According to Vitaly, he went out to the action on April 27 at 12:30 a.m. Moscow time in central Krasnodar, because he "could not be silent." According to his story, policemen soon arrived and offered him to go to the police department to draw up a protocol. The protocol was drawn up under Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation for "public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation in order to protect the interests of the Russian Federation". Nikolaev said that he refused to plead guilty, about which he made an entry into the protocol.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 29, 2022 at 01:54 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.