A police officer grabs me by the scruff of the neck and hits me.” More than 200 people detained in Moscow,...

“A police officer grabs me by the scruff of the neck and hits me.” More than 200 people, including teenagers, detained in Moscow

On the evening of November 7, law enforcement officers detained large numbers of young people in the Kitay-gorod area. Initial reports said more than 100 people had been taken to police stations. Baza later reported more than 200 detainees, while Ostorozhno, Moskva estimated the number at around 300.

▶️ Detentions and reasons

Law enforcement officers cordoned off Gorka Park, leaving one exit leading to police vans. People were taken away without explanation, including because of their “alternative appearance.” One young woman was detained because she was wearing a hat with the British flag; other young people were detained on their way to a concert.

Among those detained were minors, including children under 14. They were held for hours in police vans and in the courtyards of police stations. Parents were kept from seeing their children for a long time and were not told why they had been detained.

“Our children have been out on the street for an hour!”

parents protested outside the Basmanny police station.

▶️ Beatings and threats

A 15-year-old said that a police officer stopped him while he was out with his peers and demanded to see his backpack.

“A police officer grabs me by the scruff of the neck and hits me. I ask what’s going on, and he says, ‘Shut the fuck up.’”

The same teenager witnessed another detainee being beaten:

“While we were waiting for our parents, these guys beat one person really badly. He started puking and falling to the floor because of it. Nobody helped him. That’s how they treat teenagers.”

Another minor said that law enforcement officers hit him in his only kidney. According to a witness, another young man was brutally beaten for using an electronic cigarette.

Detainees were not allowed to drink water or use the toilet. When the children asked, the officers replied:

“We can’t help you. You can only go in your pants or behind a tree and get fined.”

One detainee said that police officers shouted at the children, made motions as if to hit them and threatened them:

“They said that if anyone filmed on the bus, they’d smash their phones along with their faces.”

▶️ Draft notices and Defense Ministry contracts

Adult detainees were handed summonses to military enlistment offices, including students with valid deferments. Adults were also persistently urged to sign contracts with the Defense Ministry right inside the police vans.

The Interior Ministry called the raid “preventive measures,” including measures against drinking alcohol in public places. Witnesses, however, said that the young people in the park were mostly neither drinking nor smoking.

Similar raids in Kitay-gorod began in the summer of 2026. People detained in earlier raids reported beatings and the use of stun guns.

Video: RusNews

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