Advocate Benyash detained for 48 hours in a criminal case

After the expiration of his administrative arrest, advocate Mikhail Benyash was not released from the special detention facility in Ust-Labinsk and was sent to Krasnodar. A criminal case was instituted against Mikhail Benyash under the article on using violence against a public official.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that advocate Mikhail Benyash was among the persons detained during an unsanctioned rally against the pension reform held in Krasnodar on September 9. On the other day, September 10, the court arrested Mikhail Benyash for 14 days and sentenced him to 40 hours of compulsory labour. According to the advocate, after his arrest he was beaten.

The administrative arrest of advocate Mikhail Benyash expired on September 23. However, the advocate was not released from the special detention facility. The arriving police officers took Mikhail Benyash away in a prison truck, reported activist Alexander Solovyov.

"Mikhail Benyash was charged under Article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation 'Use of violence against a public official'," Saveliev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Mikhail Benyash was detained for 48 hours, reported his advocate Alexei Avanesyan.

"Tomorrow (on September 24, note of the 'Caucasian Knot'), the court is likely to pronounce the pre-trial restriction measure. I have no doubt it will be in the form of an arrest. The charge is based only on the statements of the law enforcers who detained him. Meanwhile, the testimonies of the policemen attached to the case differ from their initial statements," Alexei Avanesyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent in the evening on September 23.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 24, 2018 at 00:35 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.