21 September 2024
OVD-Info is a Russian civil society organisation that monitors politically-motivated arrests and prosecutions in Russia. Each week OVD-Info publishes a bulletin with the latest news, which is translated here. To receive the mailing in Russian, visit here.
News
A man convicted for participation in a vox pop survey has been sent to a penal colony on appeal; four Muslim women in Kazan have been remanded in custody on a charge of involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir, and Omsk region authorities have conducted a search of a house for swear words written on a gate
HEADLINES
A Moscow man has been sentenced for taking part in a vox pop survey on a street has had his punishment increased from community service to imprisonment On appeal by the prosecutor, Yury Kokhovets was sentenced to five years in a penal colony after he was taken into custody in the courtroom. In April, he had been found guilty of disseminating ‘fake news’ about the Russian Army, allegedly motivated by political hatred. In the summer of 2022, journalists working for the radio station Radio Svoboda ran a survey where they spoke to Moscow residents, asking them their views about a possible easing of tensions between Russia and NATO countries. Kokhovets was one resident to take part in the survey, and in his conversation he spoke of the killing of innocent Ukrainians by Russia soldiers, concluding that for Russia’s international relations to improve, it was necessary to stop the war.
- Why is this important? The authorities continue to prosecute Russians who express any kind of anti-war views. They aim to silence those who criticise the actions of the regime and the Russian armed forces in any way. Yury Kokhovets arrived at the court hearing without any personal belongings, as he did not expect for his sentence to be made more severe. The prosecution had deemed the community service to which he was originally sentenced too lenient and appealed against the decision. As a result, Kokhovets will be spending time behind bars for this conversation with journalists.
Four Muslim women in Kazan have been remanded in custody on charges of involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir The investigation believes that Albina Valiakhmetova, Raniya Vaisova, Leisan Sadykova, and Alsina Khairullina are guilty of “leading a targeted campaign in our country to spread terrorist ideology, the basis of which was the creation of a so-called worldwide Khalifate” since 2019, and that they also recruited others to this cause. Criminal charges were pressed formally on 16 September. The next day, FSB agents searched the houses of the four defendants, confiscated books and gadgets, and arrested the women.
- Why do I need to know this? The defendants stand charged with organising and participating in terrorist activities, the punishment for which carries a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment. At least three of these women have small children at home. In Russia, you can be accused of participating in Hizb ut-Tahrir, and thus given a long sentence, for doing things like meeting in flats, reading religious literature, and recruiting members to religious organisations.
Igor Baryshnikov’s appeal hearing has been scheduled for the day be should be undergoing a medical examination essential for his operation Today, the 65-year-old Kaliningrad resident was supposed to have an MRI scan. His sentence was upheld. In July 2023, Baryshnikov had been found guilty of disseminating ‘fake news’ about the Russian army, motivated by political hatred, for online posts about the war that included information about the killing of Ukrainian citizens and was sentenced to seven years in a penal colony. Baryshnikov’s legal representative asked for the sentence to be suspended on account of the defendant’s poor health. Baryshnikov is believed to have cancer and he has a catheter installed in his bladder.
- Why is this important? The operation, which would require cystotomy (the installation of tubes into the bladder through the abdomen wall) to be performed, has been constantly postponed since March. Igor Baryshnikov’s health eventually became much worse, and had become critical by December 2023, by which time he was suffering serious pains in his groin, and his arms became blackened because of fungal infections. Only in January, after an extended public protest campaign, did he begin to receive even minimal medical treatment. In August, the UN Human Rights Committee obliged the Russian government to provide him with “immediate, comprehensive, and appropriate medical care for … the protection of his health and mental health…”
Authorities have searched the home of the daughter of farmers protesting against the war for writing on the fence of the Omsk Regional Prosecutor’s home The reason for the police visit to Marina Gordienko’s house was the word “gayboy” written on the door of the building of the Omsk Regional prosecutor, Aleksandr Starosek, who in August formally requested that her 70-year-old mother Anastasia Gordienko be given two years in a penal colony for repeated discreditation of the Russian army. The police ended up confiscating a can of paint, with which Maria’s son and his friend painted a scooter. The latter’s home was also searched, and it turned out it was not that paint that was used anyway.
- Why do I need to know this? Anastasiya Gordienko and her husband live in a town established by Ukrainian immigrants at the beginning of the last century. In August, the pensioner was found guilty of repeated discreditation of the Russian army for comments she wrote on the Odnoklassniki social media site. She was given an 18-month suspended sentence, but the pressure on the family did not end there. It is likely that the purpose of these searches was to intimidate the relatives of this pair, who are known to be opposed to the government. The story of Anastasia and Sergei Gordienko is told in detail on our website.
Features
“Derehabilitation of the victims of mass repression”: We analyse the new prosecutor’s initiative More than four million people fell victim to political repression in the USSR. They want to stop all references to ‘mass’ repressions now, and to begin to reverse the rehabilitation of the victims. These are the main changes the new law would introduce. We ask experts what all this could mean. Continue reading
The kind, evil, and amusing cop: How the Petersburg Centre for Combating Extremism terrorises and recruits political activists. An operative for the Anti-Extremism Police [E Centre], called Adam Khachatryan, has a personality with many sides; some know him as a “good cop”, some as a “bad cop”, one person knows him as the person who took him to a lonely spot and beat him up. He made attempts at recruiting people, and at least once was successful. Khachatryan is known to many St. Petersburg activists and lawyers. We spoke to them and to Mr. Khachatryan himself, to show how his work and the work of the political department of the E Centre is organised. Continue reading
Translated by Oscar Seecharan
