Otrakovsky's desire to help flood victims in Dagestan led to imprisonment

Security forces detained Captain Ivan Otrakovsky in Khasavyurt, who had come to Dagestan to help flood victims. According to the official version, the reason was obscene language. The court sentenced him to three days in custody, and Otrakovsky declared a dry hunger strike.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," approximately 1.5 million residents are in the zone of devastating floods in Dagestan. A federal state of emergency has been in effect in the region since April 9. The village of Mamedkala, where a dam breach left nearly 260 homes and gardens inundated, was one of the hardest-hit settlements in Dagestan. Hundreds of volunteers arrived to assist local residents. Gas service was restored to the village on the evening of April 10. There's still water in the village, but in smaller quantities. Aid arrives regularly, but mainly from volunteers, villagers said.

Ivan Otrakovsky, who previously ran for president of Russia (in 2023, he submitted documents to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation to run as a self-nominated candidate for president of Russia. However, the Central Election Commission refused to register the group of voters created to support Otrakovsky's self-nomination - note from "Caucasian Knot") was detained in Khasavyurt, blogger Askhabali Alibekov reported on his YouTube channel "Wild Paratrooper." "Police officers detained him yesterday, illegally detained him for an administrative offense. "This is all fabricated, it's all a lie. They were tracking him all the way from Yessentuki. "And when he went out for a walk, they detained him and fabricated an administrative case," Alibekov said in a video posted this morning.

He said he wanted to file a complaint with the prosecutor's office, but the prosecutor was not there because it was the day off, and the police tried to stop him and "lock him up."

They disgraced all of Dagestan and insulted a guest.

According to him, Otrakovsky came to Dagestan to help flood victims. "They disgraced all of Dagestan and insulted a guest," Alibekov said emotionally.

He called on everyone who could to help and announced that he would attend the court hearing to determine Otrakovsky's pretrial detention. Alibekov expressed fears that he could also be detained at the trial.

In another video, Alibekov stands outside the police station. where he intends to file a missing persons report for Otrakovsky. This video was posted on his YouTube channel 9 hours ago, and no new videos have appeared since then as of 8:00 PM Moscow time on April 11.

The head of the Dagestan Public Monitoring Commission, Shamil Khadulaev, reported that Otrakovsky's arrival was related to the flooding in Dagestan, caused by high waters and the inundation of populated areas. "As a result, he was taken to a police station in the city of Khasavyurt, where he was taken for allegedly using obscene language toward "Police officers. By a court decision, he has been arrested for three days," Khadulaev wrote on his Telegram channel.

The information about the length of Otrakovsky's administrative arrest was also confirmed by Dagestani political scientist Denga Khalidov.

Otrakovsky has been on a two-day dry hunger strike in protest against his arrest since April 10 and will continue until the end, according to a post on his Telegram channel.

Ivan Otrakovsky is a marine captain, recipient of the Order of Courage, and a veteran of the fighting in Chechnya, according to the website of the organization he leads, the Army of Defenders of the Fatherland.