04:39, 24 December 2025

The court rejected Valentina Shostak's complaint about the investigation's inaction.

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Valentina Shostak, an activist from Goryachy Klyuch, filed a complaint against the inaction of an investigator who refused to consider her complaint about possible crimes committed during the September 12-14 elections and forwarded it to the regional election commission. The court dismissed the complaint.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," candidate for the Goryachy Klyuch City Council, Tatyana Pleshakova, who was forcibly ejected from a polling station on election day, September 12, was charged with disobeying police, while her colleague, Valentina Shostak, was charged with obstructing the activities of the election commission. On September 19, Pleshakova was fined two thousand rubles. Shostak said she tried to record the violations on video; she did not plan to publish the recordings. On November 7, Shostak was handed a copy of the administrative violation report. On November 17, Shostak was fined two thousand rubles. On December 23, the Goryacheklyuchevsky City Court denied Valentina Shostak, an activist from Goryachiy Klyuch, a complaint filed under Article 125 of the Russian Criminal Procedure Code against the Investigative Committee's inaction. Shostak appealed the investigation's refusal to consider her allegations of possible crimes during the 2025 elections. "A reasoned decision will be issued within three days," a representative of the Goryacheklyuchevsky City Court told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. According to Shostak, in September 2025, she filed four complaints with the Investigative Committee alleging crimes under Articles 141, 142, and 142.1 of the Russian Criminal Code—obstructing the exercise of electoral rights and falsifying electoral documents. "I indicated that, in my opinion, the violations were committed by members and leadership of the election commissions. "However, instead of conducting an investigation, my statements were simply forwarded to the regional electoral commission—the very agency whose actions I had complained about," Shostak explained to a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. Disagreeing with this decision, the activist filed a complaint under Article 125 of the Russian Criminal Procedure Code, citing the investigative agency's inaction. In her complaint, she insisted that criminal procedure law does not permit the forwarding of crime reports to the agency whose actions are subject to investigation. "The Criminal Procedure Code does not provide for the possibility of forwarding a crime report to the same agency whose activities are subject to investigation." Even if the investigator believes there are no signs of a crime, he is obliged to conduct an investigation and make one of the decisions stipulated by Article 145 of the Russian Criminal Procedure Code," she stated in her appeal to the court.

According to Shostak, none of the decisions required by law were made. "Those against whom a person is complaining should not be reviewing complaints. Especially about document forgery during elections. It's interesting how the electoral commission can initiate a criminal case against itself—it simply doesn't have such authority," she stated.

According to Shostak, an investigator from the Investigative Committee was present at the court hearing and forwarded her complaints to the electoral commission. "I don't know why, but he kept saying in court that my case was being covered by the 'Caucasian Knot.'" "I still don't understand what this had to do with the essence of my complaint about the Investigative Committee's inaction," Shostak concluded. Despite the first-instance court's refusal, Valentina Shostak intends to seek a review of the decision. "I consider this decision unlawful and will file an appeal." "My claims were never considered on the merits, and access to justice was effectively blocked," she said.

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Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/419357