Human rights defender Mr Vadim Karasteljov was attacked by two unidentified individuals on 27 February 2010. This attack comes just one day after Vadim Karasteljov was released from administrative custody having spent seven days in custody on charges of holding an unsanctioned rally on 19 February 2010 and refusing to follow police orders. Vadim Karasteljov is a member of the Novorossijsk Human Rights Committee.

Further Information

On 27 February 2010, Vadim Karasteljov was on the way to the local post office when he noticed a young man ahead of him dressed in black, with his face covered with a hood, holding a club. Fearing for his safety, Vadim Karasteljov started to run away but the man quickly caught up with him and hit him on the back of the head with the club.

Another man, also dressed in black, joined the assailant and they proceeded to beat him for several minutes. The men eventually fled the scene when a police car on patrol appeared on the road. The police pursued the assailants and reportedly detained one of them.

Vadim Karasteljov was rushed to the Novorossijsk city hospital where he was operated on the same day. He suffered serious head injuries and is said to be in a serious condition. Prior to this attack, Vadim Karasteljov received several anonymous threats by phone. The family of Vadim Karasteljov has moved to a secret location, fearing for their safety as a result of the threats against them.

On 19 February 2010, Vadim Karasteljov was arrested on charges of holding an unsanctioned rally and refusing to follow police orders, under Article 19.3 of Russia’s Administrative Code.

Vadim Karasteljov was distributing flyers at the time of his arrest, inviting people to attend a rally in support of former police mayor Alexey Dymovskiy which was planned for 21 February 2010.

Approximately twenty people gathered around Vadim Karasteljov at the time. The police arrived on the scene and detained Vadim Karasteljov for holding an “unsanctioned rally”. On the same day a judge ordered Vadim Karasteljov to pay a 2000-ruble fine for this offense. The next day, the same judge ruled for Vadim Karasteljov to be remanded in custody for having resisted police orders.

Despite the fact that several television reporters who were covering the preparations for the rally supported Vadim Karasteljov's claim that no rally was organised on 19 February 2010, these testimonies were ignored by the judge.

Front Line believes that this attack against Vadim Karasteljov is directly related to his human rights work, in particular his activities in support of former police mayor Alexey Dymovskiy. Front Line fears for the physical and psychological integrity of Vadim Karasteljov and his family.