Anapa residents fighting for access to the beach faced threats

Representatives of the Green Mark Ecological Center and residents of the Anapa village of Sukko are seeking access to the Sukko beach area occupied by the All-Russian Children's Center "Smena." In their complaint to the prosecutor, the activists noted that they have faced pressure and threats.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," security forces attempted to portray the actions of Anapa residents, who several days ago recorded a video message to the Russian president complaining that the management of a local children's camp had fenced off the beach, thereby depriving people of access, as an unauthorized rally, the activists reported. The camp director explained that the fence was installed for security purposes.

On June 28, representatives of the ANO "Green Mark" Environmental Center" and residents of the Anapa village of Sukko filed a complaint with the Krasnodar Krai prosecutor's office alleging a violation of their procedural rights during the consideration of a civil case and the dismissal of their claim regarding the seizure of public areas of Sukko beach by the All-Russian Children's Center "Smena." According to the applicants, after the court's decision to deny their claim, they did not receive the reasoning behind it, and during the court inspection of the territory, they encountered pressure from unidentified individuals and police inaction.

According to the appeal submitted on June 28 (a copy is in the possession of the "Caucasian Knot"), the applicants are asking the prosecutor's office to verify compliance with procedural law during the consideration of the aforementioned case, as well as to assess the actions of police officers during the on-site inspection of the disputed territory, which was assigned to the parties by the court.

According to representatives of the environmental organization, on June 19, the Anapa District Court dismissed the claim of the ANO "Green Mark" Environmental Center," filed on behalf of residents of the village of Sukko and an unspecified number of individuals. The plaintiffs requested that the land surveying of the parcel be declared illegal, as they believed its boundaries included the Black Sea coastline, a forested area, and municipal roads.

The plaintiffs claim that as of June 28, they had not received the court's reasoned decision of June 19, and the document is also missing from the state automated system "Justice." The lack of a reasoned decision hinders the timely preparation of an appeal, and missing the deadline for filing an appeal leads to the decision automatically entering into force.

"The Civil Procedure Code establishes deadlines for preparing a reasoned decision and sending it to the parties." "Until the participants in the proceedings have read the reasoning, they are effectively deprived of the opportunity to fully prepare a comprehensive complaint that would undermine the court's arguments, which none of us have been informed of for 10 days," said one of the participants in the proceedings, who identified himself as Pavel.

Activists reported pressure during the court inspection

The complaint to the prosecutor also outlines the circumstances of the on-site inspection of the disputed territory, which was conducted by court order in June.

During the inspection, we were filmed on phones, unknown people literally stepped on our heels, followed us, and made threats. We contacted the police, but, in our opinion, there was no proper response.

"More than 4,000 people live in Sukko. "The purpose of the inspection was to determine whether free access to the coastal strip and municipal roads was restricted and to draw up a report for submission to the court. During the inspection, we were filmed on our phones, literally stepping on our heels, unknown people followed us, and they made threats. We contacted the police, but, in our opinion, there was no proper response," Dina told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

She noted that the activists "decided to film the events" to support their claims.

According to another activist, "after the inspection was completed, unknown individuals began spreading false information about us, the participants in the public inspection, on social media. Messages appeared claiming that we had been detained for participating in unauthorized protests. "This information is not true," Alexey K. told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. During a raid near one of the checkpoints at the Smena All-Russian Children's Center, investigators observed food sales that they believed were illegal. According to Vladimir S., "a call to the police did not result in a report of the violation being registered." The activists are asking that all these circumstances be reviewed in their complaint to the regional prosecutor.

The applicants intend to appeal the court's decision as well.

Representatives of the environmental organization reported that after receiving a reasoned decision, they intend to file an appeal with the Krasnodar Regional Court.

According to organization member Petr I., not only the arguments regarding the violation of citizens' rights to free access to the public coastal strip, but also the actions of the police officers present during the court inspection, should also be reviewed.

At the time of publication, the "Caucasian Knot" does not have comments from representatives of the Smena All-Russian Children's Center, the Anapa administration, the Anapa District Court, the Krasnodar Territory Prosecutor's Office, or the police regarding the arguments set out in the complaint.

A unified problem from Anapa to Sochi

Viktor Ilyin, a lawyer and Sochi resident unrelated to this legal dispute, notes that "the conflict over the lands of the Smena All-Russian Children's Center in the village of Sukko affects socially significant issues for the entire coast of the Krasnodar Territory from Anapa to Sochi, where officials and law enforcement fail to ensure citizens' equal rights to free access to the coastline."

I am not aware of a single precedent where, out of thousands of lawsuits filed, the court has sided with citizens and their right to access the coastline.

According to him, boarding houses, hotels, inns, sanatoriums, and elite residential complexes (RCs) have passed into private hands and become legalized illegal buildings through local courts. The newly minted owners of these RCs and hotels are seizing common areas, They build fences for their own needs, and thousands of locals who live by the sea in resort towns are deprived of access to the sea.

"We and our children, who were born and live in Sochi, are being offered vouchers to their sanatoriums and holiday homes so they can swim in the Black Sea. Years of our lives are spent in court against those squatting on the Black Sea coastline, and nothing has changed. This situation has been going on since the early 1990s, more than 30 years. A civilized resolution remains impossible because the courts side with those who violate Russian law. And I'm not aware of a single precedent where, out of thousands of lawsuits filed, the court has sided with the citizens and their right to access the coastline," noted a lawyer with many years of experience in legal battles in Sochi over citizens' access to the sea.