Human rights defenders / activists On 23/7 lawyer Irina Biryukova was said to have left Russia for fear of her safety. (RFE/RL, Amnesty International; 23/7) On 23/7 Memorial said activist Mikhail Savostin charged with illegal drug possession, is a political prisoner. (RFE/RL, 24/7) On 25/7 a Moscow court fined the four jailed members of Pussy Riot for their protest at the World Cup final. (RFE/RL, 25/7) On 27/7 the Supreme Court of Chechnya refused to transfer Oyub Titiev to house arrest. (Caucasian Knot, 27/7) Torture On 23/7 six prison officers were arrested and at least 17 fired at a Yaroslavl prison regarding the torture of Evgeny Makarov. (The Moscow Times, 23/7; RAPSI, 26/7; 27/7) On 24/7 a prison guard in Bryansk region was detained on suspicion of suffocating an inmate to death. (RFE/RL, 24/7) On 27/7 seven police officers were jailed Ingushetia and two in Siberia for torturing suspects. (RFE/RL, 27/7; RAPSI, 27/7) On 26/7 Aslan Yandiev, at risk of torture following extradition from Slovakia, was charged. (RAPSI, Caucasian Knot; 26/7) Freedom of religion On 26/7 Leningrad Military Court jailed eight members of Hizb ut-Tahrir for taking part in a terrorist organisation. (RAPSI, 26/7) Freedom of expression On 23/7 a Moscow court granted in part a libel lawsuit filed by a Nizhny Novgorod prison against Sobesednik newspaper and Pussy Riot member Maria Alekhina. (RAPSI, 23/7) On 23/7 Maria Motuznaya said she faces prison on extremism charges for posts satirizing religion. (The Moscow Times, 25/7) On 23/7 television anchor and journalist Denis Suvorov was killed in Nizhny Novgorod. (The Moscow Times, 24/7) On 24/7 Lidiya Bainova, a Khakasia ethnic minority activist, was charged with extremism for an Internet post. (RFE/RL, 24/7) On 24/7 the two-year suspended sentence given to Vladimir Egorov, from Tver region, for an online post critical of President Putin, was upheld on appeal. (Human Rights in Ukraine, 25/7) Crimea / Ukraine On 23/7 a court sent the case against Ukrainian Pavlo Hryba back for further investigation. (RFE/RL, 23/7) On 24/7 a Crimea court upheld an 8-year sentence imposed on Ukrainian Hennady Lymeshko for sabotage. His mother believes he may have been tortured. (Human Rights in Ukraine, 25/7) On 27/7 a lawyer for jailed Ukrainian director Oleh Sentsov said Sentsov’s hunger strike threatened his health. (RFE/RL, 27/7) |
