Journalists accused of kindling hatred in their article on deportation of Caucasian nations go on hunger strike in Chita IVS

Journalists from Buryatia Tatiana Stetsura and Nadezhda Nizovkina, accused of inciting hatred to law enforcers in their article about deportation of Caucasian nations, were detained for participating in an unsanctioned rally. While at the IVS (temporary detention facility) of the city of Chita, the women went on hunger strike.

On June 12, Stetsura and Nizovkina took part in a spontaneous protest action of residents of the city of Petrovsk-Zabaikalsky against the closure of a small local school and indifference of city authorities who had failed to attend the citizens' gathering held on the previous day.

"After some time, policemen arrived in the venue, separated Stetsura and Nizovkina from the crowd of protesters and detained them by rudely forcing into a car and taking to the ROVD (District Interior Division)," Sergey Basaev, a journalist of the edition named "Novaya Buryatiya", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "Immediately after, Natalia Filonova, a deputy of the Petrovsk-Zabaikalsky District Duma, who tried to get explanations from the police on the women's detention, was also detained."

At the ROVD, the detained journalists went on a protest hunger strike. On the same day they were convicted and sent to serve their sentence to Chita. Initially, they planned a 3-day action, but on June 15 they decided to continue it until their arrest was cancelled.

Currently, according to Sergey Basaev, the health condition of Deputy Natalia Filonova has worsened.