Week-ending 24 April 2020
Russia: Prisoner of conscience Konstantin Kotov will remain in jail
Following today’s decision by Moscow City Court to uphold the conviction of human rights defender Konstantin Kotov and sentence him to a year-and-a-half in a penal colony, Amnesty International Russia’s Director Natalia Zviagina said: “This decision is a profound injustice. Konstantin Kotov has spent more than eight months behind bars simply for taking part in peaceful protests, after being convicted under the notoriously repressive Article 212.1. Amnesty International, 20 April 2020
Russian Opposition Activist Kotov’s Prison Term Shortened
A Russian court has cut the four-year prison term of an opposition activist imprisoned for repeatedly taking part in unsanctioned rallies. The Moscow City Court ruled on April 20 that Konstantin Kotov’s term must be lowered by 2 1/2 years. Kotov reiterated at the hearing at the court that he does not consider his participation in the rallies as a crime. RFE/RL, 20 April 2020
Russia: Continuing judicial harassment and arbitrary detention of Mr. Konstantin Kotov
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the continuing judicial harassment and arbitrary detention of Mr. Konstantin Kotov, member of the Moscow-based “For Human Rights” movement and of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, and a volunteer for OVD-Info — an independent media outlet and a public organisation defending the rights of those detained, accused or condemned on politically motivated charges. Apart from participating in numerous peaceful protests himself, he has organized peaceful assemblies and trained protesters on how to behave during such gatherings and when facing arrest. FIDH, 24 April 2020
