Idris Arsamikov, 28, who traveled from the Netherlands to Russia to attend his father’s funeral, faced detention at Domodedovo Airport. Reports from Kommersant, citing the crisis group SOS IC, describe a troubling sequence at the airport that raised questions about access to legal counsel and proper documentation in the handling of his case.
The crisis group contends that the operator responsible for meeting Idris at the Domodedovo duty station did not present any documents to local police and declined to inform the detainee’s lawyer about his status. They further claim that a lawyer was not allowed to see Idris at the airport, and that later the detainee left the scene with Chechen security forces, prompting concerns about due process and legal representation in the custody process.
An on-duty airport police officer told Kommersant that Arsamikov had been placed on a wanted list in Chechnya under Part 3 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which relates to fraud committed by a person in a position of authority and involving large-scale consequences. The filing suggests serious charges and underscores the case’s potential implications for due process and the treatment of individuals in transit through major transit hubs.
According to SOS IC, Arsamikov was being transferred to a police station in the Shelkovsky district of Chechnya, a development that has drawn attention from human rights advocates who monitor arrest procedures and access to counsel in high-profile cases across the region. The crisis group has cautioned that the handling of this detention raises questions about transparency and legal safeguards for detainees during transit and inter-regional transfers.
Historical context from the crisis group notes that Arsamikov had previously faced detention in Grozny in the summer of 2018, reportedly due to his close associations with men. Human rights activists reportedly helped him escape from that situation, after which he relocated to the Netherlands where he obtained political asylum. This background is referenced by supporters of Arsamikov as a relevant factor in understanding the severity and public interest surrounding his current detention and the ongoing legal proceedings.
Separately, reports from Moscow mention a separate incident at Red Square involving US animal rights activist Alicia Day, who was briefly imprisoned for 13 days after disobeying law enforcement during a protest that involved walking a calf. The Moscow Tverskoy Court’s handling of that case is cited by commentators as part of a broader conversation about civil demonstrations and legal enforcement in high-visibility locations.