A Siberian shaman who has tried to hike to Moscow for what he calls a mission to expel President Vladimir Putin from power has filed a complaint with Europe’s top human rights court against his latest detention, Interfax reported Wednesday.
Russian authorities have cut short each of Alexander Gabyshev’s three attempts to trek across the country from his native republic of Sakha last year.
“Gabyshev filed a complaint about the violation of his rights when he and two of his supporters were illegally detained on Dec. 10,” human rights activist Alexei Pryanishnikov told Interfax.
Two of Gabyshev’s allies have also filed complaints about their detentions with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Pryanishnikov, who coordinates the Open Russia civic rights group’s human rights project, said.
It could take the ECHR up to a year to decide whether to hear Gabyshev’s complaint, Pryanishnikov told the Znak.com news website.
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