2 November 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 Moscow student has been sentenced to 16 years for taking photos of a military conscription office; a Pentecostal Church pastor is being prosecuted for an anti-war sermon; and a Crimean woman has been charged for Tik-Tok videos published by her daughter about Russia and Ukraine.
A Moscow student has been sentenced to 16 years in a strict regime penal colony for photographing a military conscription office. Ibrahim Orudzhev has been found guilty of undergoing training for terrorism and making preparations to commit an act of terrorism. He was arrested in November 2023 after having taken pictures of one of Moscow’s conscription offices. The authorities claimed he was conducting reconnaissance of the surrounding area, “with intent to commit arson at a later date.” His defence lawyer, and his mother, claim he was visiting a veterinary clinic near the office. He himself claims that he had been ordered to report to the recruitment office, and was photographing the sign with the opening times. In addition, the police searched his home and allegedly discovered manuals on creating chemical compounds used to make Molotov cocktails, as well as a sort of diary with plans to burn down government buildings. They looked through his phone and found he was subscribed to Ukrainian Telegram channels, and a chat-bot used by Ukrainians working to provide support to POWs, entitled: I want to Live.
- Why is this important? The harsh sentence Ibrahim Orudzhev was given for taking a few photographs is not the only terrible thing. He complained of being tortured. He was beaten on the spine and the solar plexus; he was insulted and sworn at; and he was threatened with HIV infection. He also complained of the conditions he was being held in before trial: he was not given a normal mattress to sleep on, and formal requests he made were routinely lost or thrown away.
A pastor has been remanded in custody for an anti-war sermon A Pentecostal pastor, Nikolai Romanyuk, has been charged with calling for actions that would endanger the security of the Russian state. On 18 August, his home, as well as those of several others, were searched. He was arrested and remanded in custody two days later. “Put it like this: if you are offered drugs, if you are offered spirits, if you are given a commission for the front line, these things are all the same sin, the same addiction, the same work of Satan,” said Romanyuk on 25th September 2022, leading to criminal charges against him.
- Why do I need to know this? While there are priests who pray for Russian victory over Ukraine, others actively come out against the war. Not long ago, hieromonk Johann Kurmoyarov, sentenced in Summer 2023 for “fake news” about the war, was released from a penal colony. His case was the most notorious of all those involving clergymen opposing the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But many others have come under state pressure, you can read more about this here.
10-year-old Crimean girl’s Tik-Tok activity comes to the attention of the authorities Her mother has been charged with the administrative-law offence of failing to fulfil her parental responsibilities. This followed a video posted on social media by her daughter. The video shows her being asked to choose between Russia or Ukraine, she gives the Russian flag an angry emoji and a heart, as well as a bandaged head, by the Ukrainian flag.
- Why is this important? Even the actions of small children cannot escape the attention of the authorities. An anti-war drawing by a schoolgirl called Masha Moskaleva led to the prosecution of her family members, which have only recently resulted in the release of her father from a penal colony. Now a woman is being accused of failing to live up to her responsibilities for her daughter’s upbringing because of her daughter’s Tik Tok videos. For the authorities, a good ‘upbringing’ can only be a patriotic one.
Ekaterinburg lecturer has been charged for opinions stated the war against Ukraine in a lecture Sergei Abramov, a lecturer at the Ural State Mining University, is charged with spreading ‘fake news’ about the Russian army, in abuse of his position as a lecturer. The media outlet Ura quotes one of his statements as: “The Donetsk and Luhansk regions were occupied by Russia after the annexation of Crimea… Crimea was annexed on 18 March, followed by Luhansk and Donetsk, they were occupied, I repeat, occupied. What part of the words ‘occupied’ or ‘annexed’ don’t you get?” The outlet Evening News claims he was most likely prosecuted after a student reported these comments.
- Why do I need to know this? Prosecutions for openly criticising the war in Ukraine have become normality frighteningly quickly. More than 1,080 people have been criminally charged after having protested against the Ukraine war, and many more have been charged with administrative-law offences. Nevertheless, many continue to state their views, knowing the threat of imprisonment is real. Struggling for the truth turns out to be more powerful than fear.
Features
Law enforcement against human rights defenders: How the state persecutes those who defend human rights How do law enforcement agencies clamp down on human rights projects and grassroots movements? Can lawyers and journalists be considered to human rights defenders’? What is it like to be someone who defends our rights in 2024? We spoke to 50 people who work in defending human rights and analysed data about politically motivated prosecutions in order to understand what more can be done to help those living under the risk pressure applied by the system for their professional work. Read about it in our new report!
Support political prisoners, sign our petition against censorship in prisons! In August, we released our Message service, which helps write letters to the victims of politically motivated prosecutions. In these three months, 10% of the letters sent via the official F-Letter service (an e-mail service for prisoners) were not received by their intended recipients because of censorship. 50% of responses to these letters sent with the same service did not reach their addressees for the same reason. This means that at least 42 people have had their links with the outside world severed, either partially or completely, due to censorship.
Other services we use to send these letters do not give any updates at all about the progress of the letters once we send them off, or even if they arrive there at all. Although from talking to political prisoners and their support groups, we do know that the real number of instances of abuse of censorship is higher than we think.
30 October is The Day of Memory for the Victims of Political Repression, and we mark it by launching our campaign against censorship in prisons, to support those in need of help right now. Help us to make our voices heard to those in power. With the service Woodpecker, you can send three appeals to the Federal Penitentiary Service in under a minute, demanding that abuses be reviewed and remedied. You can sign the petition here.
Translated by Oscar Seecharan
