Press Release, 18.03.2022

In Pskov, searches are being carried out at the places of residence of several members of the Pskov Yabloko team, including Lev Shlosberg, the leader of the regional branch and a member of the Federal Political Committee of Yabloko.  The searches started at 6:20 a.m.

Lev Shlosberg’s comment:

All the warrants on conducting of a search in the dwelling “in the cases of urgency” were signed by M.A. Buchinskaya, senior investigative officer of the interior in Pskov. That is, the searches are being carried out without a court approved warrant.

Basing on the rulings on conducting searches, all of them are carried out as part of “urgent investigative actions” in connection with the initiation of a criminal case on the fact of publication in one of the Pskov anonymous Telegram channels on 10 March of a post “containing deliberately false information discrediting the honour and dignity of [Governor of the Pskov region] Mikhail Vedernikov, as well as undermining his reputation” (Article 128.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Senior interrogating officer M. Buchinskaya believes that delay in conducting a search “may lead to the destruction and concealment of items relevant to the criminal case”, and therefore “does not abide delay”.

The warrant also states that “an unidentified person, being in an unidentified place”, using a mass communication tool, namely the Internet network in the Telegram cross-platform messaging system (a messenger), “published a public post”.

On 16 March, an order was sent to the Centre for Combating Extremism to carry out “some investigative actions”.

On 18 March (that is, today, it turns out at night), the senior investigating officer Buchinskaya, in response to this instruction, received a response from which it follows that “there is information about involvement in this crime of [here go the surname, name and patronymic name], in addition, documents confirming his (her) involvement in this crime may be stored at his (her) place of residence”.

Accordingly, interrogator Buchinskaya decides to conduct a search in the dwelling and notifies the public prosecutor and the Pskov city court about this upon the fact of her actions. The case was faked up in a very flagrant way, demonstratively flagrant.

Searches are being carried out at our home, at the place of residence of Yabloko Regional Council members Nikolai Kuzmin and Yekaterina Novikova, the parents of Denis Kamalyagin, the editor-in-chief of the Pskovskaya Gubernia newspaper, and journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva. Kamalyagin and Prokopyeva are not Yabloko members.

The search of our house began at 6:20 in the morning, other searches started a little later. At the time of the search, I was at a meeting in Pskov outside the house.

The pattern of searches will expand. Obviously, searches are being carried out at the homes of other members of the team. We are updating the information.

The search in our apartment is being carried out, among other things, by the same employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who confiscated computer equipment in the office of the Pskov Yabloko on 5 March at the denunciation of a “vigilant citizen”. Support for searches is provided by riot police (OMON).

We do not know who is the author of the denunciation this time, but it does not really matter.

The Pskov branch of Yabloko has nothing to do with the Telegram channel mentioned in the search warrant. The criminal case is completely falsified and bears all the signs of a direct political order.

The only political beneficiary of this criminal case is Mikhail Vedernikov, Governor of the Pskov region, because the Pskov Yabloko is his only political opponent in the region. In the atmosphere of political hysteria in the country, Vedernikov is trying to solve his personal political problems.

This is a shameful thing for the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, I believe that they are all fully aware that they are fulfilling a political order.

Update: March 18, 10:50. The police came with a search to the office of the Pskov branch of Yabloko.

On 5 March, investigative actions were already taking place here, as a result of which all equipment was seized, including ten computers.

During these days, thanks to fundraising, Yabloko has acquired new computers.

Obviously, the purpose of the searches is to seize computer equipment and telephones as much as possible, that is, to cause material damage to the Pskov Yabloko team and intimidate the activists.

Update: March 18, 12:00. Lev Shlosberg’s wife Zhanna is possibly at interrogation in a police station after a search in their apartment. She hasn’t been in contact since 06:48 in the morning. There has been no information where she is.

Update: March 18, 12:20. The police decided not to conduct a search in the office of the Pskov branch of Yabloko and confiscate the equipment, although they had the warrant in their hands. They were interested where the leader of the Pskov Yabloko Lev Shlosberg could be. After questioning Yabloko officials, the police left the office.

The police visit was connected with the same criminal case of slander against Governor Vedernikov in an anonymous Telegram channel, and searches in the homes of Pskov activists and journalists took place this morning within this case.

Update: March 18, 13:20. Lev Shlosberg: “Zhanna has got in touch with me. She is already at work. A huge heartfelt thank you to everyone who worried and helped. We are together”.

Update: March 18, 13:40. The search also took place in the apartment of Lev Shlosberg’s 93-year-old father Mark Naumovich Shlosberg. The police did not seize anything, but they did not leave a protocol either.

***

Yesterday, on 17 March, searches took place in the apartments of Yabloko activists in Kazan, Tatarstan: Chairman of the Tatarstan branch of Yabloko Ruslan Zinatullin and Yabloko activists Gulnaz Ravilova and Yelena Izotova. The searches were carried out as part of a criminal case on incitement to mass riots.

LEV SHLOSBERG

is a member of the Federal Political Committee of Yabloko and Chair of the Pskov regional branch of the party. Headed the Yabloko faction in the Pskov Regional Assembly of Deputies