Russian activist Aleksander Dolmatov, arrested last month during a demonstration opposing president Vladimir Putin, has applied for political asylum in the Netherlands.

‘A boss in the defence firm where I work told an Izvestia journalist they will kill me,’ Dolmatov is quoted by the Volkskrant as saying in a telephone interview from a Dutch refugee centre.
The paper says Dolmatov was arrested during the demonstration on May 6 for ‘not cooperating with the police’ and his parents’ home was searched on June 10.
‘I have been in the Netherlands since June 9 but the search and the fact the police told my parents they are looking for me prompted me to apply for asylum on June 13 – which is a big decision,’ he told the paper.
Dolmatov, who works for a company which produces tactical rockets, is a member of the opposition movement Another Russia.

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