A police officer on whose report opposition leader Ilya Yashin was jailed for five days said in court that his seniors ordered him to falsify a report about the activist’s violent behavior, Novaya Gazeta reported Monday.
Artyom Charukhin reported after a sanctioned rally on Triumfalnaya Ploshchad on Dec. 31 that Yashin attacked policemen, trying to prevent them from detaining fellow opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.
Yashin appealed the arrest, and Charukhin said during a hearing Friday that the activist did not attack anyone.
Charukhin said he was ordered to falsify the report by his superior — whom he only identified by the last name, Burtsev — under threat of firing. He added that he has changed his mind since and wants to be ousted.
Burtsev is called to testify during the next hearing Thursday.
