Vesna activists and Sota reporter have their homes searched

Yevgeny Zateev and Valentin Khoroshenin of Vesna, as well as activist Polina Titova and Viktoria Arefyeva, reporter for Sota, have had their homes searched in Saint Petersburg, OVD-Info reports.

Arefyeva has had her cell phone and her sister’s laptop confiscated. She has then been detained for two days, her lawyer has told OVD-Info.

Vesna is a liberal democratic youth movement. It announced nationwide protests against mobilisation earlier. Zateev and Khoroshenin are already under investigation for “being a part of an non-profit organisation that encroaches upon rights of other individuals.” It is now reported that they have also been accused of “involving individuals into riotous unrest”. They are facing 5 to 10 years behind bars. The investigation will be complete no earlier than 11 December.

The activists believe that they are being persecuted for their anti-war stance. The organisation’s website was blocked, and many activists had their homes searched ahead of their 9 May anti-war rally.