11 activists detained during searches in St. Petersburg

The police searched the homes of several St. Petersburg activists and journalists. The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that operational activities were carried out as part of the case of telephone terrorism (part 2 of article 207 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), initiated in the summer. According to “Fontanki”11 people were detained, including activist and blogger Bella Rapoport.

The Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region reported that they had conducted 15 searches. The police seized computers, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, hard drives, flash drives, as well as “campaign materials and extremist literature.” All this will be sent for examination, writes Fontanka.

Among others, SOTA correspondent Victoria Arefieva, human rights activist Anton Grachev, member of the Human Rights Council Yevgenia Litvinova, and activist Paladda Bashurova were detained. Journalist and artist Boris Konakov said that Bella Rapoport was “detained at home at five in the morning.” According to him, the girl was left in the temporary detention center for 48 hours. “They seized the phone and computer. The detention will take place in the temporary detention center on Zakharyevskaya,” he wrote in Telegram.

“b” informedthat the St. Petersburg police also carried out searches in cases of telephone terrorism in early March. Activists and opposition politicians, including human rights activist Maria Malysheva, opposition blogger Daria Heikinen, and election observer Alexander Dubrovsky, were sent to the detention center as suspects in a criminal case.