A man was filming a vacant lot next to the police station in Ramenskoye, outside Moscow. There, police officers had illegally seized the land, put up a barrier gate, and set up an illegal parking lot for their own cars. So he was reporting on it.
The police came out and said it was a restricted site and filming was forbidden. The man reasonably objected: that was nonsense, and filming the police station and the vacant lot beside it was perfectly legal. No such restrictions had been established.
The man was detained, handcuffed—dislocating his arm in the process—and taken to the local “court.” There, without allowing the defense to participate, he was given 12 days of administrative arrest.
Here is the full report:
It brings to mind Moscow’s “demolition of illegal kiosks.” Your kiosk may have stood there for ten years, and you may have all the paperwork for it, but it will still be torn down without a court order—because that is what an official decided.
If you film an official seizing land himself, you will be beaten, your camera will be taken away, and the “court” will jail you for 12 days. Keep quiet, citizen, and don’t make too much noise.
A classic police state.