Russian human rights lawyer briefly detained by security forces

On 30 January, human rights lawyer Yelena Denisenko was detained at the Gerzelsky checkpoint between Daghestan and Chechnya. Law enforcement officials confiscated the human rights defender’s passport and didn’t return it for about 40 minutes.

Denisenko was travelling by bus from Makhachkala to Krasnodar. This is not the first time the human rights defender was detained at the Gerzelsky checkpoint. Denisenko connects these repeated detentions with her professional activities.

‘This time, the law enforcement officials declared that I had two passports, and so they had to check me. They also said that my name was on their list. On 29 January I received a special notice from the FSB stating that I wasn’t included in any lists’, she told OC Media.

Denisenko is planning to continue her journey to Rostov-on-Don for further proceedings in the case of Abdusalam Ramazanov.

After 40 minutes detention, the security officials returned her passport and she returned to the bus, which had waited for the lawyer.

Gerzelsky checkpoint, where Denisenko was detained, is located on the border between Daghestan and Chechnya. Drivers and passengers must register with security forces while passing it.