Russia detains leader of election monitoring group

Russia detained Grigory Melkonyants, the co-chair of prominent independent vote-monitoring group Golos (Voice), the organisation said on its website on Thursday night.

Law enforcement officers arrived in Melkonyants’ apartment early in the morning and after searching his home, took to him the main department of the Russian Investigative Committee for charges, Russian agencies reported.A court is expected to decide on Friday whether Melkonyants will remain in custody, Golos said referring to his lawyer Mikhail Biryukov.Melkonyants may face up to six years in prison for working with an international organization, declared “undesirable” by Russian authorities, his lawyer told Russian agencies.A video published by RIA news agency showed three men in plain clothes standing next to Melkonyants inside his home while one of them ordered Melkonyants to put the time on a paper he was signing – 6.45 a.m. (0345 GMT).Moscow-based Golos is monitoring election campaigns in dozens of Russian regions ahead of voting scheduled for September.

via Reuters

Photo via Nexta TV

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