Russian journalist Galina Dmitrieva had her children taken from her by police without explanation on May 25.
According to a report on forum.msk.rsk translated by The Other Russia website, two days after publication of her article describing conditions at the AvtoVAZ automobile plant in the industrial town of Tolyatti Dmitrieva received a visit from police warning that her children were living in “unsanitary conditions.” Hours later the children — three-year-old Nikita and six-year-old Alexandra — were removed from her home without further explanation.
Yury Korotkov, a fellow journalist working with Dmitrieva on the AvtoVAZ story, was with her when police arrived. According to Korotkov, it was unclear what the police found objectionable in the article but it was clearly the motivation for their actions. One officer took Korotkov aside and told him directly: “Don’t mess with AvtoVAZ!”
Dmitrieva was subsequently detained for four hours without charge or explanation. She has so far been denied access to her two children.
According to forum.msk, Dmitrieva’s case is not the first in which Russian police have taken children into custody in an effort to pressure critics. Yevgeny Ivanov, leader of the trade union General Motors, has been threatened by child-custody services that his parental rights could be revoked. In Dzerzhinsk, the local government attempted to take away the children of opposition activist Sergei Pchelintsev.