Man detained in Moscow for writing ‘Putin is a murderer’ on his ballot

Moscow police have detained a man for writing “Putin is a murderer” on his ballot, independent news outlet SOTA reported on Saturday.

The unnamed man reportedly took “a long time writing something” on his ballot and dropped it in the ballot box top side up, which caught the attention of the police, SOTA wrote.

At least two more people were detained for tampering with their ballots on Saturday in the Moscow region, human rights group OVD-Info reported.

A number of sabotage attempts, with people attempting arson at polling booths or pouring dye into ballot boxes, were reported across Russia as voters headed to the polls in a three-day presidential election. Central Election Commission head Ella Pamfilova, who previously called those who vandalised ballot boxes “scumbags” who could face up to five years behind bars, said on Saturday that Russian authorities had thwarted 29 sabotage attempts at polling stations in two days.

This year’s presidential election is the first in Russia’s history to be held over the period of three days, with citizens able to cast their votes until Sunday evening.

An earlier version of the article said “This year’s election is the first in Russia’s history to be held over the period of three days”. It has been changed to clarify that this is the first presidential election to be held over a three-day period.