Week-ending 16 July 2021
‘Amnesty International is deeply concerned about the criminal prosecution of Ernest Mezak, a prominent human rights defender from Syktyvkar, Republic of Komi. On 25 June, investigators from the Syktyvkar Investigative Department initiated a criminal case under Article 297 (2) of the Russian Criminal Code (“Contempt of court”), and in the early morning of 26 June law enforcement officers conducted a search of Ernest Mezak’s flat confiscating his and his family’s computers, hard drives and other data storage devices as well as mobile phones. On 2 July Ernest Mezak was questioned as a suspect and on 12 July he was questioned again and officially charged with “contempt of court”. If his criminal case is submitted to court and he is convicted, he may face a heavy fine, compulsory labour or detention of up to six months. […] From the content and context of the posts published on Ernest Mezak’s social media account it appears that their aim was to highlight human rights violations, including prosecution of peaceful protesters, unfair trial and lack of independence of the judiciary in Russia, and to criticize these ongoing practices rather than issue a personal insult against the judge who had presided in his case. To share a critical opinion and possibly draw more attention to the important issue of ongoing human rights violations, the author of these posts chose irony and sarcasm. Thus, the author was legitimately exercising his right to freedom of expression in the context of an ongoing public debate on independence of the judiciary in Russia. Therefore, Amnesty International is calling on the Russian authorities to stop criminal prosecution of Ernest Mezak as it is unfounded, ensure that he is able to exercise his human rights without fear of prosecution or harassment, and ensure that the principle of independence of the judiciary, the right to a fair trial and the right to freedom of expression are observed in line with Russia’s international human rights obligations.’
– ‘RUSSIAN FEDERATION: PROSECUTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER MUST STOP,’ Amnesty International, 14 July 2021
Source:
Amnesty International, 14 July 2021: Amnesty International is deeply concerned about the criminal prosecution of Ernest Mezak, a prominent human rights defender from Syktyvkar, Republic of Komi. Amnesty International is calling on the Russian authorities to stop criminal prosecution of Ernest Mezak as it is unfounded, ensure that he is able to exercise his human rights without fear of prosecution or harassment, and ensure that the principle of independence of the judiciary, the right to a fair trial and the right to freedom of expression are observed in line with Russia’s international human rights obligations.
