From Seattletimes · · 1m 20s
Russian election observer loses consciousness during arrest
Yabloko reports election observer lost consciousness after police arrest in St. Petersburg.
In brief
Yabloko reports election observer lost consciousness after police arrest in St. Petersburg. Yabloko claims one of its election observers lost consciousness during police arrest at a St. Petersburg polling station on Saturday. Originally reported by Seattletimes.
Yabloko reports election observer incident
Yabloko said one of its election observers lost consciousness during police arrest at a St. Petersburg polling station on Saturday.
Election context
Russia’s first parliamentary election since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, features virtually no opposition.
Police response
Officials accused the observer of attempting to disrupt elections and called police who used force against him.
Medical status
It was unclear whether the observer received prompt medical attention after falling unconscious.
Charges and detention
The observer was taken to a police station and charged with disobeying police orders.
Yabloko’s status
Yabloko, the only registered party criticizing Russia’s war with Ukraine, was removed from the ballot last month by Russia’s Supreme Court.
Observer restrictions
Many Yabloko election observers were turned away from polling stations, with reports of sealed ballot boxes and denied paper ballots.
International observers
Russia registered over 380,000 electoral observers including 97,040 from United Russia and 42,743 from the Communist Party.
The key point
Yabloko claims one of its election observers lost consciousness during police arrest at a St. Petersburg polling station on Saturday.
