Activist Atamanchuk denied motions in Sochi court contempt case

At the first hearing in the contempt case, Vladimir Atamanchuk, a Sochi activist, was denied a motion to remove the judge, conduct a linguistic expertise, and request a preliminary hearing.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 19, the 72-year-old Atamanchuk received a summons to a hearing in the contempt case.

The contempt case was initiated against Atamanchuk following a complaint from the victim in the slander case. Vladimir was not informed of the exact words that became the basis for the criminal prosecution.

The victim in the case is Valery Baev, an advocate. The contempt case arose in the conclusion of the previous slander case, when Atamanchuk spoke negatively about Baev.

According to Atamanchuk, after the trial he was asked to sign a document about sending to the special military operation (SMO) zone in Ukraine. "I, naturally, refused and left," he said.