Court Fines Yakut Shaman Who Resumed March To Moscow 'To Drive Putin Out'
YAKUTSK, Russia -- A court in Russia's Siberian region of Yakutia has fined shaman Aleksandr Gabyshev and ordered him to remain in the regional capital, once again halting his march to Moscow "to drive [President Vladimir] Putin out of the Kremlin."
Aleksei Pryanishnikov, a legal coordinator of the opposition organization Open Russia, told RFE/RL on December 11 that the court found Gabyshev guilty of damaging a police officer's uniform with a batyya, a traditional Yakutian sword, while resisting being served a subpoena a day earlier. The shaman was ordered to pay a 1,000-ruble ($16) fine.
Gabyshev's lawyer, Olga Timofeyeva, told RFE/RL that the court also ordered Gabyshev not to leave Yakutsk because he is suspected of inciting extremism among Russian citizens.
According to Timofeyeva, Gabyshev has been threatened with the offense but never charged, and if he is not formally charged within 10 days, the court order holding him in Yakutsk will be automatically annulled.
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ecoi.net description:
Yakutsk: Court fined shaman who resumed his walk to Moscow to "drive president Putin out" and ordered him not to leave the city