The Soviet District Court of Makhachkala partially granted the claim of journalist Yulia Vishnevetskaya for moral damages over her unlawful detention and arrest during an anti-mobilisation protest in September 2022, paying her ₽10,000 ($123) instead of the ₽300,000 ($3,700) she had initially requested.
The human rights organisation Memorial stated that Vishnevetskaya additionally received ₽3,000 ($37) to cover the state fee.
Vishnevetskaya was compensated for being unlawfully detained on 26 September 2022 at the site of an anti-mobilisation protest. At the time of her detention, she was performing an editorial assignment for the Russian service of RFE/RL and the media outlet Reporter. On 27 September, Vishnevetskaya was arrested for five days and placed in a temporary detention facility in the Karabudakhkentsky District.
On 30 September, the Supreme Court of Daghestan upheld the arrest decision, dismissing defence complaints about alleged falsification of the administrative offence protocol. After reconsideration, the Supreme Court of Daghestan ruled that Vishnevetskaya’s actions did not constitute an offence.
Despite covering the protest as a journalist, the court found Vishnevetskaya guilty on administrative charges of participating in an unauthorised public event that obstructed life-support systems, transport, or social infrastructure.
On 7 May 2025, Vishnevetskaya filed a claim against the Soviet District Police Department of the Makhachkala Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Daghestan Ministry of Internal Affairs for moral damages. Judge Israpil Magomedov accepted the case for consideration, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Finance were involved in the process. On 28 August, the court issued a partial ruling in favour of Vishnevetskaya, awarding her ₽10,000 ($123) in compensation.
In her claim, Vishnevetskaya stated that her personal belongings — a video camera, stereo microphone, and mobile phone — were seized during the detention but not registered during her detention, and were not returned to her following her release. The police have not disclosed the location of the seized items.
According to Vishnevetskaya, she and about 200 other detainees spent more than 24 hours in the Soviet District police station. No food or water was provided, there were no sleeping facilities, and the only available toilet was outdoors. People spent hours standing and sitting in the police yard, without the opportunity to lie down, warm up, or wash up. Vishnevetskaya stated that these conditions contravened detention regulations and standards, which require the authorities to provide food and a place to sleep for those held longer than three hours.
Throughout the detention, Vishnevetskaya was cut off from communication with the outside world and had no access to medical care. She also stated that police officers took her fingerprints and photographs three times without explaining her right to refuse. There were no legal grounds for these procedures, as her identity had already been established and recorded in the administrative offence protocol drawn up against her at her arrest.
The claim noted that Vishnevetskaya experienced stress, humiliation, and powerlessness in response to the actions of law enforcement officers, and that her health deteriorated. After the incident, more than 120 media and online publications reported on her detention as unlawful.
During the anti-mobilisation protests in Makhachkala on 25 and 26 September 2022, 259 administrative protocols were drawn up and about 30 criminal cases were launched against participants. Some detainees reported torture in police custody.
Luiza Mchedlishvili
