On Monday, February, 21, 2011, at 1.30 p.m. at Independent press-center (Moscow, Prechystenka str., 17/9) a press-conference will take place ‘What will art-group Voyna (War) get, a state award or a prison sentence?’ On the day of the court hearing on the extension of the term of imprisonment of artists and activists, Leonid Nikolaev and Oleg Vorotnikov, human rights activists and art historians are speaking out against criminalization of art and social critics.

Participants:
Andrey Kovalev, PhD of art, associate professor of art faculty of Moscow State University, the prize-winner of contemporary visual arts award Innovation in 2008 for "Theory, critics, studies of arts", the member of Expert board of Kandinsky prize.

Andrey Erofeev, PhD of art, the member of jury board of the state award in contemporary art Innovation.

Anna Karetnikova, a Human Rights Center Memorial officer (the Programme on civil activists defence)

Stephaniya Kulaeva, the head of programs of Anti-discrimination centre of Memorial (St. Petersburg)

Alexander Verkhovskiy, the director of informational and analytical center Sova

Skype-conference with Nikolaev and Vorotnikov’s lawyers is planned (real-time comments from the court)

Independent press-center address: metro station Kropotkinskaya, Prechistenka str. 17/9, office 44, enter from Barykovsky lane. Phone: (495) 232 28 91; http://www.infolegal.ru/

February, 17, 2011


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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