Two reporters of Novaya Gazeta detained in St. Petersburg

Reporters of Novaya Gazeta (Moscow) Elena Lukyanova and Alexey Dushutin were detained in St. Petersburg on Sunday, Lukyanova told Novaya Gazeta. Europe.

Dushutin was taking a video of the 76-year-old St. Petersburg artist Elena Osipova who came out to protest Russia’s war in Ukraine. Lukyanova was standing nearby.

“We walked around, shot some videos, I didn’t even have a camera, I wasn’t at work. I picked up some books, and Elena Andreyevna [Osipova] wanted to go home. We helped Elena Andreyevna get into my car, and then we were detained. A police car took Elena Andreyevna, they said they’d bring her home. Meanwhile, we spent over an hour in a police van, as usual, they didn’t introduce themselves and didn’t tell us what we’re being accused of,” Lukyanova said, adding that they are currently at a police station in St. Petersburg.

She expressed hope that Dushutin would be released soon, as he worked at the protest rally as a reporter, and he has a press ID.

St. Petersburg artist Elena Osipova regularly takes to the streets to protest the current government. She has been detained several times for carrying signs saying “We don’t want to go to heaven to die for Putin,” and “No to nuclear weapons worldwide.” In April, Italian lawmakers offered her the title of an honorary citizen of Milan “as a sign of solidarity and kinship with the woman that acts as a symbol for citizens of Russia.”