![]() Some observers believe the case against Mayakov may be fabricated and may indicate a new stage in the crackdown on human rights organizations in Russia. It is perhaps noteworthy that the head of the Committee for Civil Rights, Andrei Babushkin, had recently been a member of a group from the Presidential Human Rights Council to have visited former Yukos employee Andrei Pichugin in prison. Babushkin urged that disciplinary sanctions against Pichugin be lifted so that he could be transferred to a prison with a less strict regime prison. Sources: 'Russia Detains Top Rights Activist On Charges Of Fraud,' RFE/RL, 18 September 2015 'Pravozashchitnik iz "Komiteta za grazhdanskie prava" Andrei Mayakov arestovan, Kommersant, 17 September 2015 Nikolai Sergeev, 'Оbshchestvennuiu zashchitu priznali moshenichestvom,' Kommersant, 17 September 2015 'Human rights activist Andrei Babushkin describes Presidential Human Rights Council's visit to top-security "Black Dolphin" prison and Aleksei Pichugin,' HRO.org in English, 15 September 2015 'Mayakov Andrei Vladimirovich. Biografia,' Komitet za Grazhdanskie Prava |
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