The daughter of arrested Svetlana Kerber is unable to attend school properly after her phone and computer were confiscated during a search.

Svetlana Kerber, arrested assistant to a member of the Legislative Assembly Altai Krai Lyudmila Klyushnikova, She forwarded the letter through her lawyer. In it, Kerber stated that she was being prohibited from communicating with her 12-year-old daughter. Furthermore, security forces had confiscated the girl, who had no connection to the case, her personal phone and computer.

"I'm in pretrial detention on trumped-up charges. Only the deputy I'm assisting, or the Legislative Assembly, as the party that signed the employment contract, have the right to accuse me of failing to fulfill my duties as a deputy's assistant," Kerber wrote. "The Investigative Committee cannot accuse me of violating my job responsibilities, going over my employer's head. I consider the criminal case against me and Klyushnikova to be 'legal lawlessness.'"

Lyudmila Klyushnikova and Svetlana Kerber were arrested on fraud charges related to the "fictitious" employment of a deputy's assistant in the regional parliament. Kerber allegedly received a salary but did not perform her duties.

Klyushnikova and Kerber fought against local oligarchs' plans to develop a parking lot adjacent to the Glory Memorial. In June, windows were smashed in the deputy's home, and on November 11, in the city center. Novoaltaisk Unknown persons slashed the tires on her car. 

“All these events cannot be described as anything other than political reprisals,” — said the leader of the regional committee of communists Maria Prusakova. She linked the actions of security forces to the elections of deputies to the Altai Krai Legislative Assembly and the State Duma, which will take place in September 2026.

Following the 2021 elections in Altai Krai, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) formed the largest faction in regional parliaments. The Communists also performed well in the State Duma elections in the region, winning one seat on the party list and one in the district.

Photo: Maria Prusakova's Telegram channel. Left: Svetlana Kerber, right: Lyudmila Klyushnikova