Ex-head of “Yablok” in Barnaul arrested in absentia in case of “discrediting”

In the Altai Krai, the ex-leader of the regional branch of the “Yabloko” party, Alexander Goncharenko, was arrested in absentia. The human rights project “OVD-Info” drew attention to this.

The materials of the criminal case against the former chairman of the local “Yabloko” were submitted to the court at the end of November 2023. Then the Oktyabrsky district court of Barnaul sent the politician to custody, and in December this decision was approved by the Altai regional court.

The politician himself told “Sibirsky Express” that he is at liberty. Honcharenko did not give details, but in February of last year it was reported that the politician could go to Germany.

According to “OVD-Info”, Honcharenko is being prosecuted under the criminal article of “repeated discrediting” of the Russian army. What exactly became the reason for the initiation of a criminal case is not specified in the court materials.

On the “Yabloka” website, the latest message about Alexander Goncharenko informs that he was a member of the party’s federal bureau until 2023. No more relevant information is provided, notes Sibir.Realii.

• In April 2022, Honcharenko, who at that time headed the Yablok regional office and was a member of the party’s federal bureau, was fined 30,000 rubles. rubles on the article about “discrediting the Armed Forces of Russia”. The reason was a pacifist post, which the politician published before the entry into force of this article. In the blog “I don’t want to be silent” Goncharenko wrote that it “painful to watch Russian people kill Ukrainians, and Ukrainians are forced to kill Russians.”