A resident of Anapa, a resort city on the Black Sea, has gone missing following “carousel arrests.”

The whereabouts of Maksim Ovchinnikov have been unknown since February. His mother reported this to OVD-Info.

The young man was detained on 27 January by FSB officers. According to his mother, the security forces beat Ovchinnikov, after which he had to go to hospital. The next day, he was arrested under the article on disobeying the police (Article 19.3 of the Administrative Code). Ovchinnikov was supposed to be released on 12 February, but instead, he was detained again and taken to Gelendzhik, a resort city on the Black Sea. He was held for a day at a police station and then sentenced to 15 days under the same article.

On 27 February, FSB officers took the young man away again. His mother has filed a missing person report. She believes that a criminal case with political motives may have been opened against her son.