and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission, issued the following statement today:
"The High Representative is concerned about the verdict of guilt and prison sentences issued
today by the Moscow Zamoskvoretsky District Court against seven of the eight indicted involved in the Bolotnaya Square events of 6 May 2012.
The charges brought against them and their sentences seem disproportionate in light of the
nature of the events and the offences they are accused of.
The outcome of the trial, given the procedural shortcomings and long pre-trial detention, raises questions once again as to the state of the rule of law. It further raises concerns as to the impact of such trials on the exercise of freedom of expression and assembly in Russia.
The arrest of dozens of people who had gathered outside the court to hear the verdict is an additional source of concern.
The High Representative hopes that the sentences will be reconsidered in the appeal process
and calls on Russia to uphold its international human rights commitments."
http://eeas.europa.eu/statements/docs/2014/140224_01_en.pdf
24/2/14
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Some 500 Detained at Unauthorized Rallies in Russia...
ReplyDeleteMOSCOW, February 24 (RIA Novosti) – Police said that about 500 people were detained Monday in Moscow and St Petersburg at unauthorized rallies reportedly in protest at the imprisonment of seven opposition activists.
A spokesman for the Moscow police department said 420 people were detained during a rally in downtown Moscow, which it said had been attended by some 500 people in total.
The event had not been approved by Moscow City Hall and thus violated the law on public gatherings, a police spokesman earlier told RIA Novosti.
Those detained “were continuing their illegal actions despite police demands to stop,” the spokesman said, adding that they face misdemeanor charges.
Sixty people were detained at a similar rally in St. Petersburg, which, according to city police, gathered about 100 activists.
Media reports said the demonstrators gathered to show support for a group of seven activists sentenced earlier that day to up to four years in prison for involvement in an anti-Kremlin rally on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow that ended in violent clashes with police in May 2012.
http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140224/187859744/Some-500-Detained-at-Unauthorized-Rallies-in-Russia.html
24/2/14
Russian Investigators in Bolotnaya Case Threatened – Official...
ReplyDeleteMOSCOW, February 27 (RIA Novosti) – Officials investigating a 2012 anti-government protest that led to the sentencing of eight activists this week have been on the end of threats, the head of the country’s main investigative agency said Thursday.
Investigative Committee chief Alexander Bastrykin said, apparently responding to criticism of the case, that investigators had not only shown steady resolve and integrity in pursuing the matter, but had done so in the face of intimidation.
Bastrykin did not elaborate on the nature of the threats or which individuals had been targeted...................................http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140227/187939530/Russian-Investigators-in-Bolotnaya-Case-Threatened--Official.html
27/2/14