Overnight into Thursday, Yakut shaman Alexander Gabyshev was kidnapped by armed men in masks. They broke into the tent, dragged him into their car and took him to an unknown location, one of his supporters said.
“There were many of them, they had rifles and batons. They were silent. They arrested only shaman Sasha, nothing else happened. They did not show any documents. It was nothing but a armed seizure of a citizen, a quiet special operation. Usually only criminals are caught and grabbed in such a way,” the eyewitness added.
It is the police that detained the shaman, one of his companions told znak.com.
The regional department of the Interior Ministry declined to comment on the detention of Gabyshev; Buryatia’s Investigation Committee said they had no relation to it.
A criminal case was opened against Alexander Gabyshev; he is facing a psychiatric evaluation, journalist Boris Vetrov told Siberia. Realities with reference to an anonymous source in law enforcement agencies.
Four months ago, Alexander Gabyshev left Yakutia for Moscow. He was set to cover the distance going on foot and reach the Russian capital in two years.
In July, Gabyshev staged a mass rally in Chita with more than 700 people participating. The main slogan of the rally was ‘Russia Without Putin’.
On September 9, protests broke out in Ulan-Ude, the capital of Buryatia. In spite of dispersals and arrests, the protesters refused to leave the square staying there for three days. They demanded to cancel the results of the mayor elections and release the detained supporters of Alexander Gabyshev.
According to the shaman, ‘Putin is not a man but a demon’. Gabyshev set himself a task to drive the demon out of Moscow by ‘public meetings and rallies’, but mentioned he had ‘other methods’ as well.
