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September 2020: Yuri Dmitriev, Irina Slavina, Rashid Maisigov

Details: Human Rights

September 2020: Yuri Dmitriev, Irina Slavina, Rashid Maisigov

Details: 07 October 2020; Diana Fishman

In September, Russia’s political system was particularly cruel toward its people. Karelia’s Supreme Court has increased the prison term for the historian Yuri Dmitriev from 3.5 to 13 years. Ingush journalist Rashid Maisigov, former editor of the opposition newspaper Fortanga, was sentenced to three years in prison on bogus charges. Opposition journalist Irina Slavina set herself on fire in the center of Nizhny Novgorod after months of incessant pressure by the special services.

August 2020: Guilty verdicts in the Novoye Velichiye case, crackdown on the Kushtau protests, shaman Alexander Gabyshev

Details: Human Rights

August 2020: Guilty verdicts in the Novoye Velichiye case, crackdown on the Kushtau protests, shaman Alexander Gabyshev

Details: 02 September 2020; Diana Fishman

As political repressions expanded in July, the Russian authorities’ activities in August may appear less intense. Still, human rights violations continued. In early August, seven people were found guilty of extremism as part of the Novoye Velichiye case. In Bashkiria, environmental protests against mining at Mount Kushtau were brutally suppressed. Yakut shaman Alexander Gabyshev was forcibly placed in a neuropsychiatric dispensary for speaking out against Vladimir Putin.

July 2020: The Case of Yuri Dmitriev, Prosecution of Journalists, Searches of Oppositionists

Details: Human Rights

July 2020: The Case of Yuri Dmitriev, Prosecution of Journalists, Searches of Oppositionists

Details: 03 August 2020; Diana Fishman

A month ago we wrote that June had been the most abundant month so far in terms of cases of political persecution and human rights violations in Russia. We were wrong: the July developments show that repressive policies are only gaining momentum. The pressure on the press has sharply increased, as evidenced by the resonant cases of journalists Svetlana Prokopyeva and Ivan Safronov. In a politically motivated case, human rights activist Yuri Dmitriev was found guilty of violent actions against a minor. And searches were carried out at the homes of Open Russia employees and MediaZona founder Pyotr Verzilov.

June 2020: Seventh Studio on trial, scientists accused of treason, Alexey Pichugin, Jehovah’s Witnesses

Details: Human Rights

June 2020: Seventh Studio on trial, scientists accused of treason, Alexey Pichugin, Jehovah’s Witnesses

Details: 01 July 2020; Diana Fishman

June was the most abundant month so far in terms of cases of political persecution and human rights violations in Russia. On June 26, the verdict was announced in the high-profile case of the Seventh Studio, whose defendants received suspended sentences and heavy fines. The persecution of Russian scientists accused of high treason continued, as well as a large-scale campaign against Jehovah’s Witnesses. Russia’s longest-serving political prisoner Alexey Pichugin was denied pardon for the third time.

May 2020: The Police Ombudsman, Sergei Mokhnatkin, the Novoye Velichiye case

Details: Human Rights

May 2020: The Police Ombudsman, Sergei Mokhnatkin, the Novoye Velichiye case

Details: 02 June 2020; Diana Fishman

The arrest of Vladimir Vorontsov, founder of the Police Ombudsman—a project highlighting violations of the rights of ordinary law-enforcement officials—was a notable human rights development in May. Extended arrests of the defendants of the Novoye Velichiye case was similarly disturbing. In even grimmer new, dissident Sergei Mokhnatkin passed away due to complications caused by beatings in custody.

April 2020: Journalist Abdulmumin Gadzhiyev, activist Konstantin Kotov, the BARS case

Details: Human Rights

April 2020: Journalist Abdulmumin Gadzhiyev, activist Konstantin Kotov, the BARS case

Details: 05 May 2020; Diana Fishman

April saw the prosecution of several cases related to extremism and terrorism intensify. New charges were brought against a Dagestani journalist, Abdulmumin Gadzhiyev, while four activists of the BARS monarchist movement received guilty verdicts. In a separate case, the prison term of Konstantin Kotov, a participant in the 2019 Moscow protests, was remitted, however human rights activists largely viewed the court’s decision as a mockery of justice.

March 2020: Ingushetia protests anniversary, the Azat Miftakhov case, COVID-19

Details: Human Rights

March 2020: Ingushetia protests anniversary, the Azat Miftakhov case, COVID-19

Details: 06 April 2020; Diana Fishman

In January, IMR launched a new human rights project—a monthly digest dedicated to serious human rights violations in Russia. Many of these incidents take place in the regions and rarely end up in the national media in Russia, let alone in the west. Our goal is to bridge this gap.

February-2020: Network, Hizb ut-Tahrir, Rashid Maisigov

Details: Human Rights

February-2020: Network, Hizb ut-Tahrir, Rashid Maisigov

Details: 29 February 2020; Diana Fishman

In January, IMR launched a new human rights project—a monthly digest dedicated to serious human rights violations in Russia. Many of these incidents take place in the regions and rarely end up in the national media in Russia, let alone in the West. Our goal is to bridge this gap.

January-2020: Memorial, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Ingushetia Case

Details: Human Rights

January-2020: Memorial, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Ingushetia Case

Details: 31 January 2020; Institute of Modern Russia

IMR is launching a new human rights project—a monthly digest dedicated to serious human rights violations in Russia. Many of these incidents take place in the regions and rarely end up in the national media in Russia, let alone in the West. Our goal is to bridge this gap.

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