On October 30, 2010, at 3 p.m. near the Solovetsky stone at Lubyanskaya square in Moscow a rally against political repressions and in defense of the victims of political persecution will take place.

In 1974, the day of October 30 was declared the Day of the Political Prisoner in the USSR. This sad tradition did not become the honour to the memory and history: there are political prisoners in modern Russia, too.

Criminal cases are being fabricated against political and civil activists. Cases against scientists, doctors, veterinarians, managers, military men, believers are being fabricated within demonstrative companies.
Legislation on terrorism and extremism is being used not to fight actual terrorists and extremists but to persecute and threaten the disliked.

Administrative and criminal legislation is being used selectively, the mistakes of the investigation are not being taken into consideration during a court hearing, verdicts of guilty are being prepared before the beginning of the hearings.

Glaring examples of crying lawlessness are the persecution of the owners and members of UKOS company, especially the so-called "second case of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev," conviction based on fabricated accusation of human rights activist Aleksey Sokolov and Sergey Mokhnatkin who by chance happened to appear on December 31 on Triumfalnaya square, imprisoning of Khimki hostages Solopov and Gaskarov, now released only thanks to an active public campaign.

Conditional early discharge for the disliked is quite impossible or stipulated by imposed coming to terms with the conscience, admitting guilt, renunciation of the ideas; prisoners are being imposed humiliating and ridiculous illegal additional penalties. Arrest that can protract for months and years can be chosen groundlessly and illegally as a measure of restraint for political and civil activists.

We would like to call to the authority and society for justice and humanism, lawfulness and mercy. We state: in a free democratic country no convicted based on political reasons can be. We will ask for mercy for the sick and the elderly and demand fair re-examination of the cases of those who refuse to admit guilt in the crimes they did not commit. We will call to our compatriots for help to the political prisoners who sharply need support.

The speakers at the meeting will be: writer Victor Shenderovich, human rights activist Sergey Kovalev, leader of the movement For human rights Lev Ponomarev, lawyer Mikhail Trepashkin, politician and human rights activist Valery Borschev, chair of Moscow Helsinki group Luydmila Alekseeva, Soviet political prisoner Elena Sannikova, scientist and human rights activist Ernst Cherniy, ex-manager of the UKOS company Aleksey Kondaurov.

Fund-raising to help political prisoner and journalist Mikhail Beketov (http://www.beketov-fond.ru/) will be carried out during the meeting.

The action is coordinated.

The organizers are: United democratic movement Solidarity (http://www.rusolidarnost-msk.ru/), Union of solidarity with political prisoners (http://www.politzeky.ru/), Human rights Center Memorial (http://www.memo.ru/).
Contact person - Mikhail Kriger (tel. 763-19-33, e-mail: geroy55@gmail.com).

October 28, 2010

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Human Rights Center Memorial, 127051, Russia, Moscow, Maly Karetny, 12
tel: +7 (495) 225-3118, fax: +7 (495) 624-2025, email: memhrc@memo.ru

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