Russia: First criminal case under “undesirable organizations” law

[Rogue Valley]

Amnesty International | Russia: First criminal case under “undesirable organizations” law marks a new level of repression

1/21/19
The Russian authorities have for the first time used the repressive “undesirable organizations” law to open a criminal case against human rights defender Anastasia Shevchenko, exposing her to the risk of a six-year prison term, Amnesty International said today. This morning Anastasia Shevchenko, a Coordinator with the Otkrytaya Rossiya (Open Russia) movement, was charged with “repeated participation in the activities of an undesirable organization.” Until now, violations of this law were punished under administrative law. “In recent years, the Russian authorities have progressively suffocated and criminalized dissent. The Open Russia movement has become the latest victim of this crackdown,” said Marie Struthers, Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International. “This new precedent is extremely troubling: it will be the first prosecution of a human rights defender under the Criminal Code for alleged cooperation with “undesirable organizations”. It’s clear that the authorities are expanding their toolkit for imprisoning human rights defenders and activists, so if applied broadly this practice will have far-reaching implications for the right to freedom of expression.”In recent days, police have opened criminal investigations, conducted searches and arrests of Open Russia’s activists across the country.

On 21 January, police raided the homes of six Open Russia activists in Rostov-on-Don (Southern Russia) and Kazan (Central Russia). A criminal investigation was opened against Anastasia Shevchenko, the movement’s Coordinator in Rostov-on-Don. This is the first-ever criminal case opened under Article 284.1 of the Criminal Code, according to which a repeated alleged violation of the law on “undesirable organizations” is a criminal offence. On 17 January, Open Russia Coordinator in Pskov Liya Milushkina and her husband Artyom Milushkin were arrested and accused of selling drugs, an offense punishable by up to 20 years’ imprisonment. Artyom, who is also a political activist, previously reported that police officers threatened to plant drugs on him during his recent arrest in November. Amnesty International has interviewed several associates of the Milushkins all of whom are adamant that the criminal case against the couple is fabricated. Amnesty International has documented a number of cases in which activists in Russia have been prosecuted on trumped-up drug charges, including human rights defender Oyub Titiev who is currently standing trial in Chechnya. On 18 January, police filed a case against Open Russia Coordinator in Krasnodar Yana Antonova for posting a video about the shortage of schools in the region. She was charged with “participation in the activities of an undesirable organization”, an administrative offence when “committed” for the first time.

Welcome to Putin's Russia.

 

[Rogue Valley]

Open Russia (Открытая Россия) activist in Rostov-on-Don Anastasia Shevchenko, a mother of young children,
has been ordered into house arrest to await Russia's first trial for participation in an "undesirable organisation."

 

[Rogue Valley]

Amnesty Sees New Level Of Repression In 'Open Russia' Cases

The Open Russia coordinator in Pskov, Liya Milushkina, and her husband, Artyom Milushkin, were
arrested on January 17 and accused of selling drugs.

1/21/19
In recent days, police have opened criminal investigations and conducted searches and arrests of Open Russia’s activists across the country. The movement’s coordinator in Pskov, Liya Milushkina, and her husband, Artyom Milushkin, who is also a political activist, were arrested on January 17 and accused of selling drugs, an offense punishable by up to 20 years in prison, Amnesty said. The group quoted associates of the Milushkins as saying the case against the couple was fabricated. And on January 18, police filed a case against Open Russia's coordinator in Krasnodar, Yana Antonova, for posting a video about the shortage of schools in the region. The Russian authorities have "progressively suffocated and criminalized dissent," Struthers said, adding that Open Russia has become “the latest victim of this crackdown.”

As dissatisfaction with the Putin regime gains traction in Russia, Putin regime repression of activists is on the rise, very similar to the initial repressions under Joseph Stalin.

 

[ThoughtEx.]

So, in the post nuclear apocalypse world, who wants to team up and form a brutal dictatorship with me. I plan to sweep down what's left of the west coast, and cut out a kingdom Conan style.

 

[Rogue Valley]

Human Rights Watch: Russian Activist's Criminal Prosecution A 'Blatant Attack' On Freedom Of Association

Activist Anastasia Shevchenko is seen in the defendants' cage in a courtroom in Rostov-on-Don.

At first it was Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, then Jehovah's Witnesses, and now it's ordinary Russians also.